A detective has criticised media coverage of Brittany Higgins' rape allegations, claiming it contaminated witnesses' memories.
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Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman also believes news stories and associated political commentary discouraged witnesses from being open with police, who were under "relentless" pressure during "an investigation like no other".
The senior investigator has given his views on the high-profile investigation in a statement tendered to an independent inquiry into the case of Bruce Lehrmann.
Mr Lehrmann maintains his innocence in the wake of his case being abandoned, insisting he did not rape fellow former Liberal Party staffer Ms Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.
Detective Inspector Boorman did not give oral evidence at the inquiry but featured heavily in the testimony of others, including defence barrister Steven Whybrow SC.
Mr Whybrow told the inquiry Detective Inspector Boorman had expressed a view Mr Lehrmann was innocent and threatened to quit in the event of a conviction.
In his written statement, Detective Inspector Boorman acknowledged he had met with Mr Whybrow while the jury in Mr Lehrmann's trial was deliberating.
However, the detective neither confirmed nor denied the purported resignation threat.
He defended his contact with Mr Lehrmann's lawyers, saying he went to them to ensure investigators were informed about jury deliberations because "unprofessional" prosecutors seemed to be actively avoiding police.
ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC has told the inquiry his team "closed ranks" during the trial because they believed police had aligned themselves with an acquittal.
The police perception was, conversely, that Mr Drumgold had lost objectivity after he advised investigators to charge Mr Lehrmann despite their reluctance.
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Detective Inspector Boorman made particularly strong comments in his statement about the level of media interest in the case, saying this was "not helpful to the investigation".
"A number of witnesses when interviewed by police referenced media reports which required investigators to continually remind them to focus on what they recalled not what had heard or seen in the media," he wrote.
"The extensive interest and high-profile commentary of this matter generated in the media placed significant pressure on the overall investigation and influenced internal decision-making.
"An example of this is that there was a change of protocol in regards to the delivery of the brief of evidence to defence."
The inquiry has heard police bypassed normal processes and, consequently, served Ms Higgins' confidential counselling notes on Mr Lehrmann's former lawyers by accident.
"This turned into an investigation like no other I have experienced," Detective Inspector Boorman wrote.
"The pressure continually upon the organisation was relentless.
"It was affecting us all from a stress and pressure point of view.
"It often felt this was the only job the ACT police were performing."
DPP accused of undermining police
The independent inquiry, which is investigating the conduct of police and other authorities involved in the case, has also published statements from ACT chief police officer Neil Gaughan and an Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner, Peter Crozier.
In his statement, Assistant Commissioner Crozier described tension between police and the office of Mr Drumgold, with whom he had "significant professional disagreements".
He said one "matter of tension" involved Mr Drumgold writing directly to junior police, including in one case where the top prosecutor "directed" an officer to lay a murder charge.
Assistant Commissioner Crozier wrote that he did not disagree that the charge should be laid, but he was nevertheless concerned because "it was outside the DPP's authority".
"It undermined the police officer's decision to charge," he said in his statement.
He also said police of similar seniority to Mr Drumgold would not contact a junior prosecutor without first advising the director or a member of his executive team.
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