Explosive new details emerge in Royal Commission on Informants

Fresh details have come to light in the Royal Commission on Police Informants, forcing the commissioner to stand aside.

It’s been revealed “Lawyer X” – the informant at the centre of the matter – was first registered in 1995, not 2005 as first understood.

It has increased the number of possible convictions now under a cloud.

It’s also emerged other lawyers have been acting as informers.

Malcolm Hyde has stood down as commissioner, due to the potential for overlap between the matters of interest and Mr Hyde’s time at Victoria Police.

While Mr Hyde indicated he was satisfied there are no direct conflicts of interest, I understand that Mr Hyde has made this decision to remove any adverse perceptions about the Royal Commission’s impartiality.

Victoria Police said the information had not previously been identified due to “shortcomings in our record keeping practices related to informers in the mid-1990s”.

They also stated that once police became aware of 3838s history, they took appropriate steps to ensure the Royal Commission was informed.