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Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Alan Jones’ criminal trial in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney. I will be keeping you informed of the latest developments with my colleagues Clare Sibthorpe and Harriet Alexander.
Jones, 85, is standing trial on 20 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching without consent spanning six male complainants and a 17-year period from 2003 to 2020. The former 2GB broadcaster denies any of the alleged physical acts occurred.
Jones’ long-time colleague at 2GB, Ray Hadley, returns to the witness box today for further cross-examination by Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC.
Hadley has given evidence that complainant “C”, one of the six men who has accused Jones of unwanted touching and kissing, confided in him in late 2019 about the alleged indecent assaults.
Bashir has foreshadowed she will argue Hadley encouraged “C” to make the allegations because he coveted Jones’ breakfast radio slot. Hadley has described that argument as “completely wrong and misinformed”.
- During cross-examination on Wednesday, Hadley was shown a series of explosive text messages he sent “C” about Jones, including one in December 2023 before this masthead published an article by chief investigative reporter Kate McClymont revealing the complainant’s allegations against Jones. “That c— will be in the foetal position when he reads the story in the morning,” Hadley wrote. “It’s been 50 years in the making.”
- In another message to “C” that month, Hadley said: “The low c— …[he’s] not just taking on victims, he’s taking on me and Kate. I won’t rest until we bury him, figuratively speaking or literally.” Asked if the “we” was him and the complainant, Hadley said: “I think it was probably me and Kate McClymont”.
- Hadley also texted “C” about Jones in 2019: “This bloke needs to be destroyed.”
- Hadley revealed during his cross-examination that he signed a “secret contract” in late 2018 to take over Jones’ breakfast radio slot at 2GB from July 2019. He denied he coveted the slot and said the lure was financial.
- The deal fell over, but he insisted 2GB honour the agreement to double his salary to $4 million.
- He denied it was a difficult time for him when Jones re-signed his contract for two years in May 2019, saying: “Inadvertently Mr Jones had doubled my salary for doing the same job.”
- Hadley told the court that a 2GB employee told him in about 2019 that Alan Jones had “marshalled the troops and said, ‘dig up some dirt on Hadley’.”
- In an unusual development, Hadley admitted he winked at a person in the public gallery during his evidence. He told the court he had mistakenly believed it was a reporter at the Herald he didn’t know who had “called me … I think ‘scruffy’” in a news article. This masthead did not use that word in its reporting but had referred to Hadley speaking “gruffly”.
- Judge Glenn Walsh ordered an investigation by the sheriff into any phone contact between Hadley and any journalist yesterday about his evidence. No Herald journalist covering the trial has had contact with Hadley during his evidence.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.
Read the full article here
