Lawyer X a risk to justice: police chief Graham Ashton

Victoria’s top cop has conceded using Nicola Gobbo as a police informant risked ‘perverting the course of justice’.

Victoria Police commissioner Graham Ashton arrives at the Lawyer X inquest. Picture: Aaron Francis

Victoria’s top cop has conceded using criminal lawyer Nicola Gobbo as a police informant against her clients carried the risk of “perverting the course of justice” but has denied he tried to “keep a lid” on the Lawyer-X scandal, a court heard.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton told an inquest into the police management of human sources that he took a “dim view” of Ms Gobbo’s suitability as an informant as her conduct with her clients “was not what you would expect of a legal representative.”

“She's shown herself to be a member in the criminal community engaging in these sorts of activities as you said with different players involved in different ways,” he said on Monday.

The inquiry heard Ms Gobbo hung out in criminal, legal and police circles and had sexual relationships with officers Paul Dale and Jeff Pope, who signed her on as an informant in 1999.

Mr Pope has denied he had sex with Ms Gobbo

When Counsel Assisting Chris Winneke QC asked Mr Ashton if using information obtained through client-lawyer privilege was a perversion of justice, the top cop replied: “It can create that risk yes.”

Ms Gobbo, who royal commissioner Margaret McMurdo last week ordered to give evidence in January, was a high profile criminal defence barrister who represented underworld heavies such as Tony Mokbel at the height of the gangland wars in the mid-2000s.

The police hierarchy at the time signed off on the unprecedented use of Ms Gobbo becoming a supergrass in large part because of the extent of the gangland war casualties.

Mr Ashton said he knew about the use of Ms Gobbo as an informer from 2007 but told the inquest on Monday he did not know the extent of her activities until 2011.

When Mr Winneke suggested Mr Ashton he took steps to “keep a lid” on the use of Ms Gobbo as a human source, the commissioner replied: “No.”

But Mr Winneke QC said police diary notes revealed then Assistant Commissioner Simon Overland had asked Mr Ashton not to call Ms Gobbo as a witness at a compulsory hearing because it could “compromise” her status as police informant.

Mr Winneke said: “I suggest to you it looks for all the world like a convenient arrangement between the OPI and Victoria Police to hold off pulling Gobbo in because there are other avenues that Victoria Police want to pursue?”

Mr Ashton replied: “Well certainly there was some investigations, there would be discussions about hearings and hearings that we wanted to be conducted on different matters.”

Mr Ashton said he could not recall what was said at the meeting, which was recorded in the diary notes of former superintendent Anthony Biggin.

At the time Mr Ashton was a director at the now defunct Office of Police Integrity, an independent anti-corruption body that had oversight of the force.

Ms Gobbo’s longest registration as a police informer was from 2005 until 2009, when she turned on some of her most high profile clients, including drug kingpin Tony Mokbel and underworld murderer Carl Williams.

But she was also registered in 1996 and again in 1999 by Jeff Pope, who later went on to become an assistant commissioner.

Mr Ashton told the inquiry he took a “dim view” of Ms Gobbo’s suitability as an informant as her conduct with her clients “was not what you would expect of a legal representative.”

Outside the inquiry, Mr Ashton told reporters he couldn’t comment as he is due to give evidence on Tuesday but said he “looked forward to assisting the commission as much as I can.”