Lawyer X commissioner demands answers after Nicola Gobbo’s bombshell interview
The head of the Lawyer X Royal Commission has fired up after Nicola Gobbo’s bombshell tell-all interview, demanding answers in the aftermath of the lawyer-turned-informer’s shocking claims.
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Victoria police didn’t act on concerns about possible tainted convictions due to Nicola Gobbo’s informing until the Herald Sun threatened to expose her double crossing ways, a Royal Commission has heard.
In November 2011 police sought legal advice after learning their prized former source was set to be called as a witness in a case against suspected corrupt cop, Paul Dale.
The damning memo warned if Gobbo’s secret identity was exposed, gangland heavy weights including Tony Mokbel could seek to challenge their convictions and recommended urgent disclosure to prosecutors.
But today the Royal Commission heard it took almost three years and a Herald Sun report before police acted on the advice.
In March 2014, the force became aware an article was about to be published in this paper naming Gobbo as Lawyer X and exposing police’s use of a high-profile criminal barrister as a secret informer.
An urgent injunction was sought, blocking the Herald Sun from publishing details of the scandal but news had already spread and calls for a Royal Commission began.
An email from the police media department revealed concerns about then-Chief Commissioner Simon Overland appearing on radio to discuss the issue and relief that an article about Cardinal George Pell appearing at the child sex abuse Royal Commission was likely to “knock this way off the front page”.
That same day, police engaged the state’s corruption watchdog to investigate leaks to the media.
A week later, Operation Bendigo was set up to examine which cases may have been the subject of a miscarriage of justice as a result of Gobbo’s conduct.
Counsel assisting the commission Chris Winneke QC suggested to Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton that police only began to investigate after the Herald Sun began trying to publish the story.
“Things started to move more quickly after this Herald Sun activity and it was at that stage that Victoria Police started to move to make further disclosures, would that be fair to say?” Mr Winneke asked.
Mr Ashton said he was unsure of the “sequence” of disclosures and wasn’t directly involved in the process.
The police chief rejected suggestions his concerns were to “damp things down and prevent further publicity and ... exposure” of police.
Mr Ashton told the commission he had referred the 2011 legal advice onto his boss - Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright - and police lawyer Finn McRae but said his responsibility stopped there.
Mr Ashton said he was later assured by Mr McRae the Office of Public Prosecution had been made aware of the advice, but when pressed he said could not remember when or what he was told about the disclosure.
LAWYER X COMMISSIONER DEMANDS ANSWERS
An unimpressed head of the Lawyer X Royal Commission has demanded answers following Nicola Gobbo’s shocking tell-all interview last night.
But Gobbo’s lawyer said he was “unequivocally” unaware his client was speaking to a TV crew at the same time he was arguing she was too ill to front the commission.
Commissioner Margaret McMurdo AC fired up this morning at Rishi Nathwani, representing Gobbo, asking whether he misled the commission over submissions made last week about his client’s health.
“I would like to know why the commission was not informed that at or about that very time she was flying to an international destination and giving a lengthy interview to nationwide media.
“When I was being told instead, the commission was being told that she was too unwell to give evidence,” Ms McMurdo said.
Mr Nathwani said he had no idea his client was giving the explosive interview.
“For the last 10 months … you were not misled at all, it was not within my knowledge,” Mr Nathwani said.
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Ms McMurdo asked when the commission could expect the statement Gobbo alluded to in the ABC interview after first requesting one be provided in March.
Mr Nathwani said he could not give a definitive answer and was still obtaining instructions from Gobbo.
To that, Ms McMurdo said: “I expect a better answer than that tomorrow.”
Police Chief Graham Ashton continues his evidence this morning before Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius is expected to take the stand this afternoon.