A civil servant accused in 2008 of conspiring to defame former Premier Ewart Brown and former Deputy Premier Derrick Burgess spoke publicly about the accusations for the first time yesterday.

Government chief architect Lawrence Brady, who was arrested but never charged by police in relation to the claims, told the Commission of Inquiry he had “nothing to do with” the creation of two cheques purportedly made out to Dr Brown and Mr Burgess from Landmark Lisgar, the company contracted to build the Magistrates’ Court and police building.

The cheques came to light in December 2008 in the files of the Ministry of Works and Engineering.

Dr Brown and Mr Burgess claimed they were “false” and deliberately placed there to make it appear as if they were taking “kickbacks”.

A police inquiry into the cheques found no wrongdoing and a lawsuit in Canada against Mr Brady by Dr Brown and Mr Burgess was dismissed, with costs awarded to the civil servant.

Mr Brady told the commission how in 2008 he was approached by Michael MacPhee, from the Auditor-General’s office, who asked to see certain files.

“I made the comment of saying ‘I don’t know what you are talking about’.

“He then took me to my office and read me the 1990 Audit Act; that it’s an indictable offence to prevent the Auditor General from carrying out their duties.

“He said he’d like to see those files in relation to those cheques.”

Mr Brady explained that the cheques would be held by Canadian consultants CS&P Architects, which had been handling the certification of payments to the main contractor. He said CS&P put the documentation on a secure website which he accessed using a password they gave him in the presence of Mr MacPhee, who downloaded the material on to a flash drive.

Mr Brady said he did not look at the documents but passed them to the ministry’s quantity surveyor to place on file.

He said his office was later raided by police and his home and work computers seized.

He described being “interrogated” at the police station and handed a document which he was asked if he recognised. “I said ‘no, I don’t,” Mr Brady said.

He was told by an investigator it was a “Photshopped copy of those cheques that were manipulated”.

Mr Brady said he asked the officer if Photoshop was on either of his computers, as that was the only software program that would have allowed him to access the file.

The answer was no.

He said his input was increasingly rejected within government after the court building project and his relationship deteriorated with “not just” Mr Burgess, but the “whole of government, really”.

After being offered a position as a technical officer manager, he said he was “in reality, being made redundant, to some degree”.

Mr Burgess is expected to give evidence to the tribunal today.

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