DPP Shane Drumgold wanted ACT Police mistake in Brittany Higgins matter publicly exposed

Shane Drumgold wanted to publicly shame police for inadvertently providing Brittany Higgins’s counselling notes to Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer, before reading the confidential records himself.

Shane Drumgold told Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates that while he didn’t want the jury at Bruce Lehrmann’s impending rape trial to suspect the detectives were incompetent, their mistake ‘needs to explode at some point’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold has ­extended his leave as new documents reveal the depths of his frustration with police ­investigating Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation.

Following five days of bruising examination at the board of ­inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system last month, where Mr Drumgold was grilled over his handling of the rape claim and the accused Bruce Lehrmann’s discontinued prosecution, the ACT’s top prosecutor suddenly went on four weeks’ leave.

The 58-year-old was due to ­return to his role on June 13 but a spokesman for Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury on Wednesday told The Australian that Mr Drumgold had requested to ­extend his leave to June 30.

His office said they expected him back on July 3.

Shane Drumgold while evidence at the board of inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system in May.

Until then, Deputy DPP ­Anthony Williamson SC will continue to as acting director.

Mr Drumgold had also been expected to resume giving evidence at the inquiry but a representative for the board said that no further public hearings were planned.

This comes after Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates’s file notes, submitted to the inquiry, revealed Mr Drumgold wanted to publicly shame police for inadvertently providing Ms Higgins’ counselling notes to Mr Lehrmann’s lawyer.

During a meeting on September 22, 2021, Mr Drumgold told Ms Yates that while he didn’t want the jury at Mr Lehrmann’s impending rape trial to suspect the detectives were incompetent, their mistake “needs to explode at some point”.

In her notes, Ms Yates ­recorded Mr Drumgold as saying at the meeting that he “wants to preserve prospects of conviction” ahead of Mr Lehrmann’s trial.

“Would be undesirable to have the incompetence of the investigators as a question hovering (over the trial),” she noted of his remarks. “Competence of investigation is directly linked to prospects of conviction. Incompetent investigations cause jury’s to ask – what other stuff ups did they make? But this also needs to ­explode at some point.”

Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz. Picture: Instagram

Someone at the meeting said the disclosure demonstrated “catastrophic, mind-boggling incompetence” although it is not clear from Ms Yates’s notes exactly who said this.

A couple of days later, Ms Yates made a file note of a conversation with Ms Higgins about the disclosure of the counselling notes. “Shane is outraged on your behalf,” Ms Yates told the former Liberal staffer.

“His priority has been to ensure the documents are destroyed or returned. He’s confident it won’t affect the trial, or impact the prospects of conviction.”

Following this there was a ­flurry of calls, texts and emails ­between Ms Yates, Ms Higgins and her partner David Sharaz but they have all been redacted.

Shane Drumgold told the board’s chair Walter Sofronoff KC that following police’s inadvertent disclosure of Brittany Higgins’s counselling notes, he read them himself to assess the damage. Picture: AFP

During his evidence to the ­inquiry Mr Drumgold told the board’s chair Walter Sofronoff KC that following police’s inadvertent disclosure of Ms Higgins’ counselling notes, he read them himself to assess the damage.

Ms Yates’ statement to the ­inquiry also reveals Mr Drumgold told her – five weeks before Mr Lehrmann was charged – that if police did not hurry up and charge the accused with Ms Higgins’ ­alleged rape, he could circumvent them to lay the charge himself.

Ms Higgins alleged Mr Lehrmann raped her in senator Linda Reynolds’ ministerial office in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after a night out drinking with colleagues in Canberra.

In her statement to the inquiry, Ms Yates said that Mr Drumgold requested a catch-up with her on June 30, 2021, and expressed his frustration at ACT Police’s handling of the investigation. She said she was not sure what he wanted to discuss at the catch-up.

“Mr Drumgold expressed ­frustration to me about delays in the progress of the investigation,” Ms Yates said.