KEY ISSUES RAISED AT THE INQUIRY INTO THE HANDLING OF BRITTANY HIGGINS’ RAPE ALLEGATIONS
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS
* DPP Shane Drumgold accused police of having a “passion” for the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann to fail
* Walked back claim about “political interference” in the case, instead saying investigators had a “skills deficit”
* Admitted his office closed ranks against police officers during the trial as prosecutors believed police had lost objectivity in the matter
* DPP accused of misleading the court on his advice to Network 10 journalist Lisa Wilkinson about her Logies speech, which delayed the trial and led to widespread media criticism
* Mr Drumgold admitted he could have been clearer but believed Wilkinson and Channel 10 lawyer Tanya Smithies understood his advice as a warning
ACT POLICE
* Lead investigator Detective Superintendent Scott Moller admitted officers made a mistake by providing Ms Higgins’ counselling notes to prosecutors and defence lawyers
* Accused DPP of “dismissing” police concerns that there was not enough evidence to charge Mr Lehrmann
* Senior Constable Emma Frizzell admitted police were confused about the legal test required to charge a suspect
* An inquiry document showed police had different definitions about the charge threshold
* This ranged from “reasonable honest belief” to “honest belief in the suspect’s guilt” and “reasonable possibility of obtaining a conviction”
VICTIMS OF CRIME COMMISSIONER
* Commissioner Heidi Yates defended her decision to accompany Ms Higgins to court each day and said no one in the police, defence team or prosecutor’s office raised issue at the time
* The commissioner conceded she should not have stood alongside Ms Higgins as the former Liberal staffer made a media statement outside court
* Ms Yates said she would have made a different decision if she had known what Ms Higgins was going to say
AAP 2023