Murder hunt leaks 'came from the OPI'

A "CATASTROPHIC" series of leaks of top-secret operational information was suspected to have come from Victoria's Office of Police Integrity.

A "CATASTROPHIC" series of leaks of top-secret operational information about a covert Victoria Police murder inquiry was suspected by senior detectives on the investigation taskforce to have come from the state's Office of Police Integrity.

The head of the murder taskforce, Superintendent Rod Wilson, told OPI investigators in a recorded interview that the leaks -- the most detailed in Victoria Police history and published in The Age newspaper in September 2007 -- were traced to the OPI by several of his detectives, who were going "ballistic" because of the threat to the murder investigation.

When the OPI held public hearings in November 2007 into leaks about Operation Briars, it did not scrutinise itself to determine whether it was the source .

There was no suggestion in the OPI's public report, Exposing Corruption within Senior Levels of Victoria Police, that the OPI might have leaked. The report's only finding in relation to The Age stated: "There is no evidence as to who supplied the information set out in the articles."

The OPI focus involved blaming Victoria Police's then media director, Steve Linnell, and then assistant commissioner, Noel Ashby, for leaks and for undermining then deputy commissioner Simon Overland.

Neither Mr Ashby nor Mr Linnell was in a position to know the operational details published in The Age.

Mr Ashby and the former secretary of the Police Association, Paul Mullett, who were unsuccessfully prosecuted after OPI hearings, accuse the OPI of an unlawful double standard and of abusing its powers to oust them for political reasons.

The OPI's practices have been described as "corrupt" by Mr Ashby's lawyer, Phillip Priest QC.

The OPI's exemption from operational scrutiny and extraordinary powers mean it is not answerable for its decisions.

A transcript obtained by The Weekend Australian shows Superintendent Wilson told the OPI the information being leaked was remarkably accurate and The Age had indicated one of its sources was the OPI.

He believed leaks were also coming from the police Ethical Standards Department and another taskforce.

When the OPI investigator named a senior OPI officer as a possible source of leaks, Superintendent Wilson replied: "Oh, not fingering anyone in particular, but you know, people within OPI were leaking to the, you know, leaking out parts of the story.

"So that was their view. I tried to say, well that could be right, but there are many other sources and avenues, and (Victoria Police) has got a pretty notorious reputation for leaking itself, so let's not go overboard on it.

"But it was like there would be a call come over the TI (telephone intercept), especially the one in relation to the meeting we had in this office. There was (four named people) and me, and next minute they are discussing it over the phone."

An OPI spokesman said there was no evidence to suggest the OPI was the source of the leaks.

"Superintendent Wilson made the comment in 2007 in the context of who had knowledge of the information at the time. He raised a number of possible scenarios and OPI was just one of them. There is no investigation currently into the leak because there was no evidence of who the leaker was. We weren't responsible for the leak, and that is categorical."

The OPI did not release the transcript of the 2007 interview during its investigation into leaks.

Superintendent Wilson said after The Age's report was published: "There's nothing we can put to (the suspects) they haven't read in the article. They know the guts of the case. The consequences or the outcomes or the fallout from the story was that the job was basically over as far as we're concerned."

Simon Overland, then deputy commissioner, was "amazed at the level of detail", while Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said Superintendent Wilson "was very concerned that this proved the existence of a high-level leak, possibly within OPI", as it was clear there were limited parties to the discussions.

Mr Cornelius and Mr Overland were concerned early in 2007 that if Operation Briars were to leak, it would be "catastrophic", and would lead to strong calls for a royal commission.

The operation was established after a tip-off that a serving Victorian police officer was implicated in a murder by providing the victim's address to a hitman.