However, a spokesperson from the ACT DPP told Lawyers Weekly that “the Director of Public Prosecutions has not been stood down”.

“Mr Shane Drumgold SC is taking leave from the office in order to focus on the board of inquiry. Mr Anthony Williamson SC has been appointed as acting director during this period,” they said.

Mr Drumgold has worked at the DPP since 2002 and served as DPP since January 2019.

Mr Drumgold has come under fire in the past week at the ACT government’s board of inquiry into the conduct of criminal justice agencies involved in the trial R v Lehrmann, in which the trial was aborted due to juror misconduct. The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, then opted not to proceed with the scheduled second trial, in light of fears for the health of Brittany Higgins, who has accused her former political staffer colleague, Mr Lehrmann, of rape in an office at Parliament House.

Mr Lehrmann has maintained his innocence, and no findings have been made against him.

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To read Lawyers Weekly’s full reporting of the inquiry thus far, see below:

• Top prosecutor accused of ‘double standard’ in Lehrmann trial
• DPP directs police chief to keep officers away from defence team
• ACT’s top prosecutor admits ‘mistake’ in sensational trial allegations
• DPP under fire for advice on controversial Logies speech
• Lehrmann’s lawyer ‘pissed off’ with DPP’s conduct
• Cracks in relationship between DPP and police ‘no surprise’