Radio titans Ray Hadley and Alan Jones face off in court

Ray Hadley says a man broke down in tears after confiding in him that Alan Jones “put his hand on my c**k and kissed me”, a court has been told.

Mr Jones, 85, is fighting a string of charges in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court relating to allegations made by six male complainants.

The former radio broadcaster has pleaded not guilty to 20 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching and denied all the allegations made against him.

One man, who can only be known as Complainant C, has told a court that Mr Jones repeatedly kissed him and touched him on the penis on the outside of his clothing.

During his evidence to the court last month, C said he broke down while relaying his allegations to Mr Hadley in October 2019.

Mr Hadley, a former colleague of Mr Jones’ at 2GB in Sydney for nearly 20 years, took to the witness box on Tuesday afternoon and was questioned for just more than an hour before his evidence was interrupted by legal argument.

Public airing of C’s allegations

Mr Jones sat in the front row of the court listening to Mr Hadley on Tuesday afternoon, scribbling notes on a notepad.

Mr Hadley told the court that after speaking to C, he called author and columnist Peter FitzSimons, who was looking into other allegations against Mr Jones.

“Peter FitzSimons wanted to talk to him, that I hadn’t identified him, that it would not identify him, and basically left it at that,” Mr Hadley said.

He told the court that he then sat with C as he had a phone conversation with Mr FitzSimons.

After journalist Kate McClymont published C’s allegations in late 2023, Mr Hadley spoke about them on-air.

He said he cross-checked his draft statement with C, to ensure he was comfortable with it, and had it checked by the Nine legal department.

‘Hand on my c**k’

Asked of his recollections of the conversation with C, Mr Hadley told the court on Tuesday that the man alleged to him that he’d been “sexually assaulted by Mr Jones on occasions.”

“He said ‘he put his hand on my c**k and kissed me’,” Mr Hadley told the court.

Mr Hadley said C told him Mr Jones kissed him in the lifts at the 2GB studios and grabbed him on the penis while driving in his car.

He told the court that C alleged that Mr Hadley touched him “on a regular basis”.

“I asked him if he was homosexual and whether he was consenting to it,” Mr Hadley told the court.

“He broke down and cried and said, ‘No, I hated it, I’m not homosexual’.”

Mr Hadley further told the court that C told him that he was “embarrassed and ashamed that he allowed it to happen”.

Mr Hadley, who told the court that he had known Mr Jones since the mid-80s, said C also told him that Mr Jones had touched him under a table at a luncheon.

He said he offered to make a complaint to 2GB’s owners and management on his behalf or support him if he wanted to go to police.

Mr Hadley told the court that C expressed that he did not want to come forward because he believed it would “ruin” his career because Mr Jones was “too powerful”.

‘Broke down’

C previously told the court that in 2019, Mr Hadley told him columnist and author Peter FitzSimons was researching allegations about Mr Jones.

C told the court that as he confided his allegations about Mr Jones to Mr Hadley, Mr FitzSimons called Mr Hadley, who handed him the phone.

The man told Mr FitzSimons that Mr Jones had kissed and touched him and he declined an offer to tell his story publicly, C told the court last month.

C told the court at that point he “did not want anyone to know”.

The man said Mr Hadley “asked if I was OK” before he “broke down crying”.

“I broke down and I said ‘he’s a f**king grub, he used to grab me on the c**k, he used to kiss me’,” C told the court.

“Ray just listened. I just broke down sobbing. I said ‘he’s a f**king c**t, he’s just a c**t’.”

‘Secret contract’

The court has been told that by 2019, relations were strained between Mr Hadley and Mr Jones.

During his cross-examination, C denied coming forward to benefit Mr Hadley.

James Willis, who worked as a senior producer for Mr Jones’ breakfast show, told the court on Monday that in 2019 he became aware that Mr Hadley had been telling others that he had signed a contract to take over Mr Jones’ breakfast slot.

“My understanding is Mr Hadley had signed a secret contract to replace Mr Jones while Mr Jones was coming off contract,” Mr Willis told the court.

“And while this was meant to be a secret, it had spread throughout the corridors enough that our team, including Mr Jones, had been aware of it.”

During the last of his evidence on Tuesday morning, Mr Willis told the court that he understood that Mr Hadley had signed a contract but never saw one.

He said at the time he did not “100 per cent” believe it would come to pass.

The court has been told that Mr Jones in 2019 was re-signed by 2GB to a two-year contract however retired from breakfast radio citing medical reasons in 2020.