Man saw ‘mistress’ of BRS take a fall

THE man who tried to help Ben Roberts-Smith’s “mistress” out of a glitzy Canberra event has told a court he watched her drunkenly tumble down a staircase, striking her head and leaving a terrible bruise.

The woman known as Person 17 now claims her head injury was caused by Mr Roberts-Smith (inset) punching her in the face for embarrassing him at the event – a claim the elite soldier denies.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine newspapers over a series of articles alleging he is a war criminal, bully and domestic violence abuser.

Mr Roberts-Smith and Person 17 had a volatile relationship that included allegations of a fake pregnancy, a fake abortion and secret rendezvous at glamorous parties and hotels.

Among them was a black tie veterans event at Parliament House in Canberra in 2018. The court has heard Person 17 got drunk before potentially revealing the affair to military dignitaries. Mr Roberts-Smith left to arrange a car before Person 17 followed, the court heard.

A former soldier, Terry Nichols, appeared as a witness on Friday and said Person 17 approached him.

“She was unsteady and quite slurred in her speech,” Mr Nichols said. He said he escorted Person 17 out, but she began walking downstairs herself.

“She was halfway down … and she lost her balance and fell forward onto the stairs and down to the bottom of the platform,” Mr Nichols said.

Mr Nichols said she had fallen at least six stairs and made a “terrible thud” on the solid landing below. He told the court he saw a large haematoma above her left eye.

The trial continues.