The mother of disgraced former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has launched an extraordinary character attack on Andrew Hastie, emailing Coalition MPs with accusations that the man who testified in her son’s defamation trial was “not fit” to lead the Liberal party.

An email was sent from Sue Roberts-Smith’s address to at least two dozen Liberal and National MPs containing a 39-page dossier about Hastie early on Wednesday.

It follows the West Australian’s vow to quit the frontbench if the party recommitted to net zero by 2050, which prompted fresh speculation about a future leadership tilt.

In the email, seen by Guardian Australia, Sue Roberts-Smith told MPs that after Jacinta Nampijinpa Price’s sacking from the frontbench “it is time you had a good hard look at Andrew Hastie”.

“He has demo

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