Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s defence lawyer does not believe senior police officers were resentful of the prosecutor in the case, but some were unhappy with elements of the trial, an independent inquiry has heard.  

Steven Whybrow is the second witness in the inquiry into how the ACT justice system handled rape allegations made by Mr Lehrmann’s former colleague Brittany Higgins.

Mr Whybrow was asked whether senior investigators were resentful towards Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, but told the inquiry his perception was “the opposite”.

“I don’t know about the word ‘resentment’ but (ACT Police detective inspector Marcus Boorman) was unhappy with various aspects of the trial,” Mr Whybrow said on Tuesday.

“When I say ‘the opposite’, I don’t mean that (police) were loving and kind.

“I meant my impression was that it was Mr Drumgold who was hostile towards the police.” 

Mr Whybrow said the first time he became aware of suggestions territory police were “undercharging” when it came to sexual assault matters was while reading submissions to the inquiry.

The lawyer representing Mr Drumgold, Mark Tedeschi, said it was surprising Mr Whybrow did not know about this given he was a former president of the ACT Bar Association. 

Mr Tedeschi said he would submit to the inquiry that police had a “bizarre” approach to whether Mr Lehrmann should have been charged in the first place. 

“We want to prove that it’s true that (police) did have this attitude to sex cases generally and that (the Lehrmann case) was a classic example of it,” he said.

“Had it not been for all the publicity, had it not been that the alleged offence occurred in Parliament House, this matter would have been dealt with like the other … matters that have been, in effect, just ignored by the police.”

Mr Lehrmann pleaded not guilty in an ACT Supreme Court trial which was derailed because of juror misconduct.

After the first trial was vacated, Mr Whybrow said he indicated to police a decision about whether or not there should be a retrial should be made by someone other than Mr Drumgold. 

Prosecutors ultimately dropped the charges against Mr Lehrmann because of fears about the impact a second trial would have on Ms Higgins’ mental health.

Mr Whybrow previously told the inquiry he did not get the impression police had acted unprofessionally during the investigation or trial.

But he had never had a senior officer tell him they would resign over a verdict, which is what happened during a meeting with Mr Boorman while the jury was still deliberating. 

“In relation to Detective Inspector Boorman, he was somewhat stressed (and) my impression was a sort of moral trauma,” Mr Whybrow said on Monday.

“He expressed the view that he thought (Mr Lehrmann) was innocent.” 

The inquiry, led by former Queensland solicitor-general Walter Sofronoff, is examining the actions of ACT police, prosecutors and a victim support service during the high-profile investigation and trial.

It was established after accusations by police and prosecutors about each other’s conduct during the case.

Officers from ACT Policing and Australian Federal Police as well as the Victims of Crime Commissioner are also expected to give evidence to the inquiry.

By Maeve Bannister in Canberra