NSW police commissioner backflips on appointment of Steve Jackson as new media adviser

NSW police commissioner Karen Webb has ‘ceased the temporary appointment’ of a new executive director of the media team. Photograph: Richard Milnes/Shutterstock

The New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, has backflipped on her decision to appoint former Network Seven producer Steve Jackson as her media adviser.

Questions about the appointment were raised last week when images of Jackson, who produced Seven’s Spotlight interview with Bruce Lehrmann, began circulating in the media industry in Sydney. Seven paid more than $100,000 in rent for the former Liberal staffer in return for the exclusive interview.

The images were of Jackson with an unnamed woman he had interviewed in 2019 when working for the Australian newspaper. According to media reports, there was no sexual activity and nothing illegal about the photos.

NSW police on Thursday said it had “ceased the temporary appointment for the role of the executive director, public affairs branch” because the role needed to be fulfilled “free from external distractions”.

“To best serve the interests of the NSW police and community, the executive director, public affairs branch needs to be able to fulfill the duties of the role free from external distractions and ongoing media attention,” NSW police said in a statement.

“The current arrangements for the role will continue for the time being.”

Webb dismissed her former executive director of public affairs Liz Deegan earlier this month after the commissioner’s media strategy was criticised in the wake of the alleged murders of Sydney couple Jesse Baird and Luke Davies.

She appointed Jackson to the interim role for a period of six months after a “baseline check” and said earlier this week that a thorough security check was underway.

Approached by Guardian Australia on Thursday, Jackson said he had no comment.

In an interview with Ray Hadley from Nine Radio this week Webb said the position offered to Jackson required access to sensitive information and she would review the appointment.

In a surprise move on Thursday Jackson’s former colleague at Spotlight, producer Taylor Auerbach, issued defamation proceedings against Lehrmann.

After reports were published about Jackson and Auerbach’s behaviour during the courting of Lehrmann for an exclusive interview, Lehrmann implied the stories were not true.

The reports were that Spotlight had put almost $3000 on a Seven credit card to pay for Thai massages for Lehrmann and a producer. Jackson was not present during the reported massages.

“It’s an untrue and bizarre story from a disgruntled ex-Network Seven producer,” Lehrmann told News Corp. “Network Seven [has] only ever covered reasonable travel for filming and accommodation.”

Auerbach’s solicitor Rebekah Giles reportedly said in the concerns notice Lehrmann’s comments about her client were false.

“The press statement is likely to devastate Mr Auerbach’s professional reputation,” Giles told the Sydney Morning Herald.

She said that Lehrmann’s press statement conveyed a defamatory imputation that “Taylor Auerbach lied to the press about Bruce Lehrmann being bought a massage by a Seven Network employee”.

Auerbach was dismissed last week by Sky News Australia where he was an investigations producer.