The head of an inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann rape case has questioned why the ACT's top prosecutor was so concerned about what he perceived to be police attempts to "derail" the trial.
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"Who cares? Why did you care so much?" inquiry chairman Walter Sofronoff KC asked ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC at a hearing on Wednesday.
The question was posed as Mr Drumgold outlined his concerns that senior police were "almost exclusively" engaging with defence lawyers, rather than prosecutors, during Mr Lehrmann's trial.
Mr Lehrmann's trial, in the ACT Supreme Court last year, was abandoned because of juror misconduct.
He maintains his innocence and denies he raped Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in March 2019, when the pair were Liberal Party staffers.
At the core of Mr Sofronoff's inquiry is whether authorities, including Mr Drumgold and police, breached or failed to act in accordance with their duties in relation to the high-profile case.
On Wednesday, Mr Drumgold said police involved in the case had "displayed a passionate interest in this matter not proceeding".
He said this was why he was concerned when he saw senior detectives standing, with members of the police sexual assault and child abuse team, in a circle with Mr Lehrmann's lawyers at least three times.
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Mr Drumgold indicated he was particularly concerned about the presence of Detective Superintendent Scott Moller, who had previously labelled Ms Higgins "evasive, uncooperative and manipulative".
Detective Superintendent Moller gave that opinion, before Mr Lehrmann was charged, in a police report Mr Drumgold has criticised as offering little more than "gratuitous, stereotyping assessments".
On Wednesday, Mr Drumgold said he feared Detective Superintendent Moller was trying, during the trial, to "feed" inaccurate information to Mr Lehrmann's lawyers in an attempt to derail the case.
In response, Mr Sofronoff questioned why the top prosecutor was so concerned.
"So what?" he said, pointing out that Mr Drumgold believed the detective's opinions were based on inadmissible evidence.
Mr Sofronoff wondered aloud what Mr Lehrmann's lawyers could possibly have done with Detective Superintendent Moller's information if that was true.
He acknowledged that Mr Drumgold might feel betrayed by the senior police officer "at a human level", but he indicated he could not understand why it mattered in a professional sense.
The inquiry was shown an email which showed at least one senior figure in ACT Policing seemed to share Mr Drumgold's concerns about officers' engagement with defence lawyers.
In an email responding to Mr Drumgold's request that police cease direct contact with Mr Lehrmann's lawyers during the trial, ACT deputy chief police officer Joanne Cameron said she had advised officers to "avoid any communication with defence counsel".
"[E]ven the sheer fact of the perception generated by the fact Defence counsel and police are communicating, is not acceptable," Commander Cameron wrote.
Despite Commander Cameron sending this email on October 12, 2022, defence barrister Steven Whybrow SC's statement to the inquiry indicates direct contact with police continued.
On Tuesday, it was revealed Mr Whybrow claimed to have had a clandestine coffee meeting with Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman on October 25, 2022, during jury deliberations.
According to Mr Whybrow, the "agitated" detective said he believed Mr Lehrmann was innocent and he was going to resign if the man was convicted of raping Ms Higgins.
Mr Drumgold's evidence continues.
