Shane Drumgold resigns: Top prosecutor who led Bruce Lehrmann’s criminal trial resigns after leaked Sofronoff report

Shane Drumgold, ACT’s Director of Public Prosecutions, has tendered his resignation and will take early retirement, reports say.

Mr Drumgold has been on paid leave since May after being questioned by a committee of inquiry about how Mr Lehrmann’s rape trial was handled by police and prosecutors.

Brittany Higgins alleged that Mr Lehrmann, her former colleague, raped her in 2019 in Parliament House after a night out – which he strongly denies.

He was tried by the ACT Supreme Court in October, but the trial was dropped after a juror brought banned investigative material to court. Mr Drumgold then dropped the charges entirely in December over concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health.

The inquiry was led by former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff, who presented his findings to ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr on Monday.

Barr had planned to keep the 600-page report secret for weeks, but the contents of the report were published Wednesday night. Two days later, it was revealed that Mr. Sofronoff had leaked the embargoed report to two media outlets.

The ACT government is expected to announce Mr Drumgold’s departure on Monday. news.com.au reported.

Brittany Higgins (left) accused Bruce Lehrmann of raping her in Parliament House. He denies the allegations

Mr Drumgold told colleagues he was ‘absolutely shocked’ when he learned the report had been leaked by the chair of the inquiry.

The investigation began because Mr Drumgold sent an irate letter to ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan on 1 November 2022 calling for the investigation – a month before Mr Lehrmann’s charges were dropped.

In the letter, Mr Drumgold accused police of conspiring not to charge Mr Lehrmann, and also claimed that ‘political interference’ was obstructing the investigation into Ms Higgins’ allegations.

Under cross-examination during the May inquiry, Mr Drumgold finally admitted that he was ‘possibly mistaken’ about his concerns about conspiracy.

Mr. Sofronoff felt that Mr. Drumgold’s allegations were “not only false, but utterly false and without any rational basis,” and therefore did not call for a public inquiry.

Mr Drumgold claimed it was ‘probable’ there was a wider conspiracy by the Australian Federal Police to drop charges against Mr Lehrmann (pictured), but reversed that claim during the inquiry

Thursday, Mr. Drumgold told News Corp that he had not received a copy of the report and was therefore “unable to comment.”

Mr Lehrmann has told multiple media outlets that he was preparing to sue the ACT government over his prosecution.

“I have instructed my lawyers to prepare a statement of claim against the state,” he said.

“I have lawyers who need to be paid, people who have supported me, like my mother and uncle, who need to be supported.

“I’m not interested in becoming a millionaire, but I might want to get on with my life and maybe buy a house.”