Live: Radio titan Ray Hadley to give evidence at 'rival' Alan Jones's trial

Retired 2GB host Ray Hadley has been called to give evidence in the trial of his radio "rival" Alan Jones, as the veteran broadcaster faces 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching.Hadley has been called to give evidence in relation to allegations that Mr Jones kissed and touched a young colleague in 2008, without the man's consent.Live updates, reactions and contributions from ABC readers.Tue 1 Sep 2026 at 2:03pmTue 1 Sep 2026 at 2:03pmWhy Ray Hadley is being calledRay Hadley was this morning seen arriving at court, where he was met by a media scrum.The trial in the NSW Local Court has previously heard one of Alan Jones’s alleged victims, known as Complainant C, confided in Mr Hadley about the alleged offending.Mr Jones has pleaded not guilty to 22 counts of indecent assault and sexual touching of six men.You can read up on what Complainant C claims to have told Mr Hadley here:That man, known as Complainant C, has told the NSW Local Court that he confided in Hadley about the alleged offending more than a decade later, but asked the broadcaster not to report it to management.Mr Jones's defence team said none of the allegations made by Complainant C ever happened.In the defence case opening, Mr Jones' barrister Gabrielle Bashir said "rivalry, treachery, double dealing, money, hatred, desperation, opportunism and more" was at the heart of this trial, and named Hadley as a "rival" who wanted to "destroy" her client.Former broadcaster and columnist Ray Hadley has been called to give evidence. (ABC News: Abubakr Sajid)She told the court Hadley had long been looking for a way to bring down his arch rival Mr Jones, and that Complainant C "delivered" that for him.Complainant C, who was 40 years younger than Mr Jones, has given evidence that Mr Jones touched his crotch while driving and kissed him multiple times in the lift at his Circular Quay apartment and in the lift at work.He described Mr Jones as "the most powerful person in Australia" and said that was why he felt he had to "cop" his colleague's alleged offending.The court has also heard allegations from the defence that while Hadley was presenting the 2GB mornings program, he "coveted" the breakfast radio slot that Mr Jones held.A 'very fierce power struggle'Earlier, another witness who worked with Mr Jones at 2GB told the court Mr Hadley signed a "secret contract" to take over the breakfast show in 2019.The witness was shown text messages he sent to Mr Jones in February 2019, in which he said he was trying to raise the alarm that Mr Hadley, who was hosting the Mornings Show, had been telling radio colleagues that he was taking over Breakfast.He told the court the contract was meant to be a secret, but news of the deal "spread throughout the corridors" and made its way to Mr Jones's camp."It was clear … that Ray had signed a physical contract … to take over from Alan," he told the court on Monday."I was of a view that I should be drilling that into Mr Jones as much as possible."But the court heard the alleged takeover deal was never done, and by May 2019, Mr Jones had re-signed as the Breakfast host for another two years.The witness told the court Complainant C had "hitched his wagon" to Mr Hadley, and admitted that he "hitched his wagon" to Mr Jones."I think at the time there was a very fierce power struggle going on between two hosts and there was very little middle ground to be had," he said.The crown successfully applied on Monday to cross examine the former 2GB employee as an 'unfavourable witness' on some matters, after raising concerns that he had given different evidence from his 2024 police statement.