ABC drops defence in former soldier Heston Russell's defamation ...

The ABC has dropped its defence in former special forces soldier Heston Russell's defamation case, to avoid having to comply with a court order to reveal the identity of a journalist's source.

Key points:An urgent court hearing took place on Wednesday to resolve the matterThe ABC had earlier sought to rely on a truth defence, but switched it to a public interest test in MayThe case will return to the Federal Court on Friday

Mr Russell launched legal action against the ABC — along with journalists Mark Willacy and Josh Robertson — over a story published on television, radio and online on November 19, 2021, which the former commando said implied he was involved in the death of an Afghan prisoner.

While the stories contained a denial from Mr Russell, he claimed they still gave the impression he was involved.

In February, Justice Michael Lee ruled the ABC had conveyed 10 defamatory meanings in the stories, including that, "Russell, as commander of November Platoon, was involved in shooting and killing an Afghan prisoner during an operation in Helmand Province in mid-2012".

The ABC had earlier sought to rely on a truth defence in its fight against the defamation action, but in May switched to a public interest test.

On Tuesday, the Federal Court ordered the ABC to hand over documents that included the unredacted identity of a US Marine known as "Josh".

In an urgent court hearing on Wednesday evening, the ABC's barrister, Lyndell Barnett, said the national broadcaster would not comply with the order.

"Our client takes their promises to protect sources very seriously," Ms Barnett told the court.

Heston Russell's barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC told the court the documents, which totalled more than 600, needed to be provided unredacted.

"One of the biggest issues was not confidential sources," she told the court.

In a statement, director of ABC News Justin Stevens said the protection of sources was "crucial" for public interest journalism and the broadcaster had no choice but to abandon its defamation defence.

"Commitments made and kept by journalists to sources are central to ensuring journalists retain the ongoing trust of people speaking truth to power, they are a key tenet of journalistic ethics and press freedom in this country," Mr Stevens said.

"We wanted the opportunity to defend our journalism in court, however a greater principle is now at stake – our ethical responsibility to honour the promise protecting the name of our source.

"Mark Willacy and the ABC's award-winning investigations team are experienced journalists with a strong track record of reporting on matters of public interest and the ABC supports them upholding their obligations to their sources."

Justice Michael Lee on Wednesday granted a stay, preventing the order from taking effect, and adjourned the matter until Friday.