Shane Drumgold is right to take leave from his position as ACT’s Director of Public Prosecutions

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold taking a month’s leave as the inquiry into the handling of the case against Bruce Lehrmann continues is appropriate.

Mr Drumgold’s Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Anthony Williamson, has been appointed by the ACT government executive to act in the role until June 13.

As we editorialised on Tuesday, it would have been difficult for Mr Drumgold to continue his day job until Walter Sofronoff KC delivers his report on July 31. Mr Drumgold’s relationship with the Australian Federal Police has broken down. One problem centres on the Moller Report, prepared by police as part of their investigation into the rape allegation by former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins against Mr Lehrmann.

At one stage, Mr Drumgold tried to prevent it being given to Mr Lehrmann’s defence team. Mr Drumgold came under fire during five searing days of evidence.

As Janet Albrechtsen wrote on Thursday, he also made claims about possible political conspiracies between the Morrison government and the Australian Federal Police, between senior ministers and Mr Lehrmann’s defence team, and between the AFP and defence lawyers.

The claims were not supported by evidence, however, and were “so manifestly unmeritorious that Drumgold admitted last week he was mistaken about political interference in the investigation of Mr Lehrmann’’.

It is also worth asking, as Albrechtsen wrote, whether the DPP’s judgment was affected by political whirlwinds and the politics of the #MeToo movement, in which extreme advocates have been known to give short shrift to principles of due process.