The New South Wales police commissioner, Karen Webb, has revealed the appointment of a new police media adviser is under review after she received new information about the candidate.
A spokesperson for NSW police told Guardian Australia the review of the appointment of the Channel Seven and News Corp journalist Steve Jackson to the $320,000-a-year role “remains ongoing”.
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” but a thorough security check was now under way, the commissioner said.
Questions about the appointment were raised last week when images of Jackson, a producer on Seven’s Spotlight program, began circulating in the media industry in Sydney.
The images were of Jackson with an unnamed woman he had interviewed in 2019 when he was working for the Australian newspaper. According to media reports there is no sexual activity and nothing illegal about the photos.
Jackson was one of the producers of Spotlight’s exclusive interview with Bruce Lehrmann, for which the network paid his rent for a year to the tune of $100,000.
Approached by Guardian Australia, Jackson said he had no comment.
On Monday morning Webb broke her silence on the controversy, saying Jackson has passed a “baseline check” but a “more thorough” security check was now under way.
“It’s a position that does require access to sensitive information,” Webb told Nine Radio’s Ray Hadley.
“What is happening now is that the [job] offer is made but there [is] security vetting that goes on in the meantime … the question was asked … ‘were we aware of information’. Information has been provided to us and it is being reviewed as part of that employment process.”
Webb revealed that Jackson was recommended by the police minister Yasmin Catley’s chief of staff, Ross Neilson.
She said she turned to Neilson for advice because she does not “have a lot of connections in the media” and he used to run the police media unit.
“I asked the minister’s chief of staff, who’s been around in this game for a long time,” Webb said.
“So he was an ideal person to ask. And did he have any suggestions? He gave me a couple of suggestions. And I followed up with Steve.”
A spokesperson for Catley said the employment of Jackson was a matter for the commissioner. The minister has been approached for comment about Neilson’s role.
Webb agreed with Hadley when he suggested recent headlines were “not a good way to start your career as the person advising the chief law officer in terms of a police commissioner”.
In the interview with Hadley, Webb conceded she was not experienced in dealing with the media and had made mistakes in her public appearances.
She came under scrutiny last month when she referenced a Taylor Swift lyric in a media interview where she attempted to defend her response to the alleged murders of Baird and Davies.
Asked on Seven’s Sunrise program about her delay in speaking publicly after the alleged murders and whether she should face criticism over her handling of the case she said: “There will always be haters. Haters like to hate. Isn’t that what Taylor [Swift] says?”
