Ben Roberts-Smith WILL attend Anzac Day events and has the support of veterans

By ASHLEY NICKEL, NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 03:00, 24 April 2026 | Updated: 03:00, 24 April 2026 Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has announced he will attend public ceremonies for Anzac Day.  'Anzac Day is sacred to me and every other veteran. I will be attending to pay my respects and I encourage everyone else to,' Roberts-Smith told Daily Mail. The retired SAS corporal is expected to attend an Anzac Day event in Queensland on Saturday, the 111th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. His declaration is amid ongoing debate around the circumstances of his arrest earlier this month and prosecution for the alleged war crime murders of five Afghan nationals during his tours of duty between 2009 and 2012. Roberts-Smith was arrested on April 7 at Sydney's domestic airport in front of his partner and two teenage daughters. On Thursday, it was revealed he had preparing to move to Spain when police swooped.  Many of his supporters earlier vowed to boycott Anzac Day ceremonies in protest. Australia's four living VC holders, including Vietnam War hero Keith Payne, backed Roberts-Smith's right to attend Anzac events. Mr Payne, 92, publicly supported Roberts-Smith in attending Anzac Day ceremonies, saying: 'I'll be very, very bloody surprised and so will the remainder of the veteran community if he's not bloody welcome wherever he goes.' Roberts-Smith (above) has been charged with five alleged war crime murders When asked earlier this week, he repeated the same sentiment.  'Look, I'll give you one answer to the whole question of Ben's treatment,' Mr Payne said.  'My belief is what happens in war, stops in war. You can't second guess it when you weren't there.'  Roberts-Smith has claimed he is innocent of the charges against him. He returned to his Gold Coast home following his sensational arrest earlier this month and is required to report to police three times a week. 'I greatly appreciate the support from Keith Payne VC and everyone else that has made contact,' Roberts-Smith told The Australian on Thursday. On Sunday, Roberts-Smith reiterated that he is proud of his service in Afghanistan, having served in multiple deployments between 2006 and 2012. 'While I was there, I always acted within my values, within my training, within the rules of engagement,' he said in a brief press conference. 'I'd also like to say that I'm extremely proud of all the men and women that served alongside me in Afghanistan and their service and sacrifice should never be forgotten, particularly those who made the ultimate sacrifice, many of whom were my friends.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.