Lawyer X evidence withheld by police

The head of the Lawyer X royal commission says it is ‘most concerning’ police have been filtering evidence.

It emerged senior officers had not handed over information about Nicola Gobbo on advice from lawyers. Picture: ABC

The head of the Lawyer X royal commission says it is “most concerning” police have been filtering evidence, despite being told to hand over all documents relating to Nicola Gobbo.

Commissioner Margaret McMurdo put Victoria Police in the “hot seat” on Wednesday, after it emerged senior officers had not handed over information on advice from lawyers.

“Victoria Police should be a model litigant, particularly when it’s concerning a royal commission into its conduct,” she said.

She said nothing had been received despite an order being made after Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius on January 24 revealing an email chain outlining concerns over the use of Ms Gobbo’s contaminated evidence had been excluded from his evidence.

“It just shows that whatever process has been undertaken since this was raised in Mr ­Cornelius’ evidence hasn’t been successful and it will need to be done as a matter of priority,” she said.

When he gave evidence, Mr Cornelius said he was involved in an email chain in which the police hierarchy, including then deputy commissioner Sir Ken Jones, discussed raising issues with the Director of Public Prosecutions in 2010.

On Wednesday, the issue of missing evidence resurfaced when Superintendent Paul Hollowood and Detective Inspector Steve Smith said they had left ­information out of their statements on instruction from Victoria Police.

In both cases, it concerned whether the officers had seen a risk analysis of Ms Gobbo transitioning from police informant to witness against former detective Paul Dale over the 2004 murder of informant Terrence Hodson and his wife Christine.

Superintendent Hollowood and Inspector Smith said they had never seen the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis, prepared in December 2009, until it was shown to them by lawyers for Victoria Police.

Despite sitting on the Petra Taskforce steering committee that oversaw the Hodson murder investigation, Inspector Smith said he never saw the SWOT analysis.

“I sought their (the lawyers’) advice in relation to what went in and what didn’t go in,” he said.

Superintendent Hollowood, who sat on the gangbusting Purana Taskforce, said he was also advised to remove reference to the SWOT analysis, as well as the fact he was “sidelined” after he raised concerns over the ­legality of using a barrister as a human source.

“I highlighted those matters when my statement was being taken but I was guided by the ­advice I was given in terms of the compilation of the statement,” he said.

Ms McMurdo said she was “very concerned” the inquiry had discovered more information was missing.

“This (Hollowood) witness’s statement would have been in that category of being caught by the audit at that time and yet we’re finding out that he’s in the same position as Mr Cornelius,” she said.

A lawyer for Victoria Police, Karen Argiropoulos, said she would seek instruction.

Ms Gobbo was a high-profile defence barrister who represented underworld heavies including Tony Mokbel at the height of Melbourne’s gangland wars. The royal commission has already identified scores of cases tainted by her information.