Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton gives evidence at Lawyer X Royal Commission
Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton stopped taking official police notes for more than two years during the height on Nicola Gobbo’s informing, the Lawyer X royal commission has heard.
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Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton stopped taking official police notes for more than two years during the height on Nicola Gobbo’s informing, the Lawyer X royal commission has heard.
Between 2006 and 2008, Mr Ashton, then head of the OPI, failed to take any notes in his police diary.
Mr Ashton told the commission the decision arose out of concerns of leaking information about sensitive investigations he was involved in, but added no one instructed him to stop taking notes.
Counsel assisting Chris Winneke QC suggested Mr Ashton had made an agreement with then-assistant commisioner Simon Overland to stop taking notes at the commencement of a “big operation”.
Mr Ashton simply answered, “no”.
Mr Ashton also has denied he was following orders from Mr Overland to stymie examinations of Ms Gobbo over the Hodson murders.
Police diary entries detailed a plan to have Mr Overland persuade Mr Ashton to drop the planned examination of Ms Gobbo by revealing her status as a police informer.
A dairy note by one of Ms Gobbo’s handlers made following a meeting where their concerns about the compulsory hearing were discussed said it was agreed Mr Overland would “speak to Graham Ashton, the OPI, regarding the issue … advised not to pursue”.
The July 2006 meeting also discussed whether they could reveal Ms Gobbo’s informer status to Mr Ashton without anyone else finding out.
But Mr Ashton stood firm in his denial that the discussion with Mr Overland ever took place, despite overwhelming evidence from other police members notes and statements.
Asked by counsel assisting Chris Winneke QC at the Lawyer X Royal Commission if he could explain why the planned examinations of Ms Gobbo by the Chief Examiner were inexplicably dropped, he said he didn’t know.
“That’s the missing piece … I haven’t been able to work out why the hearing didn’t go ahead,” Mr Ashton said.
Mr Ashton told the commission he recalled speaking with Mr Overland around the time of the July 2006 meeting, but said he wasn’t told Ms Gobbo was a human source until 2007.
“My recollection is I wasn’t aware until 2007 … I don’t have any recollection of (Overland) telling me,” Mr Ashton said.
Handlers tried to block surprise grilling of Gobbo
The police corruption watchdog wanted to haul Gobbo in front of a surprise examination in relation to a number of serious criminal matters including her possible knowledge of the Hodson murders in 2006.
But senior police investigators attempted to block the interrogation, fearing her secret role as a police informer would be exposed.
Mr Ashton, then head of the Office of Police Integrity, told the Royal Commission Ms Gobbo was a person of interest in several matters in June 2006.
These included her possible involvement in the leak of a highly sensitive police document – known as IR 44 – which contained details of Terrence Hodson becoming a police informer.
The document was leaked and published just days before his and his wife, Christine’s murder in May 2004.
The Royal Commission heard the integrity office also wanted to question Ms Gobbo over her involvement with suspected corrupt cop Paul Dale as well an investigation into alleged corruption of officers at Brighton police station.
Mr Ashton agreed the integrity office wanted to maintain the “element of surprise” in terms of their questioning.
Ms Gobbo’s handlers discussed the possibility of claiming legal professional privilege if she were called before the chief examiner.
Mr Ashton told the commission he was unaware of the lawyer’s role as a human source at this time.
Mr Ashton has denied suggestions he attempted to keep “a lid on” the Lawyer X scandal, telling the Royal Commission this morning he first became aware of the extent of Nicola Gobbo’s informing when she was called as a witness against suspected corrupt cop Mr Dale.
Mr Dale was charged with lying to the Australian Crime Commission – but rather than risk Ms Gobbo’s role as a police informer being revealed, Mr Ashton ordered the withdrawal of six charges, the commission heard.
Counsel assisting the Commissioner Chris Winneke QC put to Mr Ashton: “the steps that were taken … were not about disclosing information to prosecutors … it was about keeping a lid on this and making sure that people did not find out about Ms Gobbo’s role and Victoria Police’s role,” he said.
Mr Ashton answered “No”.
Mr Winneke again put to Mr Ashton: “If you were serious that you were concerned about appropriate disclosure being made … then appropriate disclosure would have been made rather than an attempt to conceal”.
“There were no attempts to conceal,” Mr Ashton told the commission.
Mr Ashton walked back comments he made defending the actions of police when the Lawyer X scandal was first revealed late last year, now saying he was not looking to “excuse” any behaviour.
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The Royal Commission heard Victoria’s top cop first learnt the criminal barrister had been registered as a police informer in 2007 when he was head of the now-defunct Office of Police Integrity.
But he said on Monday morning he was not aware of the reach of the information she was providing about her clients until several years later.
Mr Ashton he took a “dim view” of Ms Gobbo after learning she had encouraged clients to roll on each other and represented clients on each “side of the transaction” in early 2005.