Lawyer X: Former top cop Simon Overland denies trying to ‘rewrite history’

Former top cop Simon Overland has attempted to distance himself from Nicola Gobbo’s recruitment.

Former Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Simon Overland departs the Royal Commission. Picture: AAP

Former top police officer Simon Overland has denied trying to “rewrite history” in an attempt to distance himself from the recruitment of criminal lawyer Nicola Gobbo as a human source.

Under cross-examination by Ms Gobbo’s lawyer Rishi Nathwani on Wednesday, Mr Overland told the royal commission into police informants that he had been consistent in his evidence and rejected the assertion he was trying to deflect responsibility for the Lawyer X fiasco.

Mr Nathwani asked: “Are you rewriting history because you are again trying to distance yourself from the involvement with the initial recruitment of Nicola Gobbo?”

Mr Overland answered: “No, I think my answers have been consistent with the general evidence I've given over a long period of time which was given from my recollection and without the benefit of being able to see any written material.”

Ms Gobbo, who has been ordered to give evidence at the royal commission, was a high-profile criminal defence barrister who represented underworld heavies such as Tony Mokbel at the height of Melbourne’s gangland wars.

Her tainted information was used in scores of cases to secure high-profile gangland convictions. Since the scandal emerged, one conviction has been overturned and more are expected to follow.

As Mr Overland copped a grilling on Wednesday from Renee Enbom SC, who is representing Ms Nixon as well Victoria Police, he conceded it was possible his former boss might have forgotten the high-profile criminal lawyer was recruited as a police snitch at the height of Melbourne’s bloody gangland wars.

“I mean Christine is suffering from the same difficulty we're all suffering from,” he said.

“These events took place a long time ago and we've been asked to try and recall what we did and what happened.”

Mr Overland told the royal commission on Tuesday an entry in a diary he forgot existed indicated he informed Ms Nixon on September 29, 2005, contradicting evidence given by Ms Nixon that she found out when Lawyer X was unmasked as Nicola Gobbo in media reports in December 2018.

On Wednesday, he reiterated that the diary was proof he had informed Ms Nixon that Ms Gobbo was registered as police informant 3838.

“I believe, by virtue of having been able to see the entries in my diary … I must have told her about 3838,” he said under cross examination by Ms Enbom.

“And if I told her about 3838, it only seems logically would have told her as the Chief Commissioner, who 3838 was.”

During his first stint in the witness stand last year, Mr Overland, who served as assistant commissioner of crime and then deputy commissioner under Ms Nixon, said he did not keep diaries during his time at Victoria Police.

But three were discovered by police at a facility in Laverton North in December, just days after Mr Overland finished giving evidence.

Ms Nixon, who is the third person to have served as chief commissioner to give evidence at the royal commission, said in December that Mr Overland should have told her Ms Gobbo had been registered as an informant.