ACTING Police Chief Commissioner Tim Cartwright has attended Spring Street for a meeting with Police Minister Kim Wells this afternoon.

Mr Cartwright, who is in charge while Ken Lay is overseas, would not say when asked if his meeting was about Lawyer X.

“I’m meeting with the Police Minister,” he said on the steps of Parliament.

“I wouldn’t be able to tell you what the meeting is about.”

Police had taken the extraordinary step of demanding all media outlets agree not to publish material about Lawyer X by 2pm today — or face legal action.

Lawyers acting for the Chief Commissioner sent a letter to media throughout Victoria asking them to agree not to identify Lawyer X.

The letters suggest media outlets have been undermining ‘long-established press conventions’.

The Herald Sun has not published the identity of Lawyer X.

The move comes as Victorian Labor Leader Daniel Andrews voiced his concern after the Herald Sun was last night silenced from publishing detail on Lawyer X which it believes is of extreme public interest.

Victoria Police took the extraordinary action of seeking a Supreme Court injunction at 7.30pm last night preventing the newspaper from publishing any information at all about Lawyer X, whom the Herald Sun had no intention of naming or identifying.

As the hearing commenced, the Herald Sun was ordered by the judge to stop its presses.

Herald Sun Editor Damon Johnston said that Victorians ­deserved to know the full truth.

“The police last night moved to prevent us from publishing important details that go to the heart of the public interest,” Johnston said.

But Victoria Police obtained the court order prohibiting the publishing of any information that would tend to identify the lawyer.

The police’s push to silence further reporting on Lawyer X also comes despite growing calls for a royal commission and the fact the issue could influence Victorian politics.

Johnston said: “We believe Victorians deserve to know the details of what we had intended to publish in today’s newspaper.”

Mr Andrews said: “We cherish our free media in this state. And it’s always a concern when the media is unable to publish a story they believe to be in the public interest.”

The Opposition Leader said a royal commission into the investigation “shouldn’t be discounted”.

“These are very serious issues,” Mr Andrews told 3AW radio.

“I don’t think gag orders from courts that stop the media from reporting on these issues will give us the answers we need, so perhaps a royal commission is needed.”

Mr Andrews said secrecy was “dangerous”.

“The reporting that has been done to this point, on your program and in other media, I think has served the public’s interest. It’s a big thing to gag the media from reporting such an important matter which as you say goes to the heart of how our criminal justice system works, the way our taxpayer money is spent.”

Mr Andrews said the investigation so far raised questions about “what impact (Lawyer X) has on trials that have already happened, what impact it might have on trials that haven’t already occurred.”

When asked if it could mean “crooks were getting out of jail”, Mr Andrews replied “absolutely”.

Johnston said the Herald Sun would continue investigating and would explore all legal avenues in a bid to publish the details pulled from the paper shortly after 8pm.

Lawyer Rob Stary, an accredited criminal law specialist, said a royal commission or independent commission would be the only way to restore confidence in the justice system.

“We have got to restore public confidence in the justice system,’’ he said.

“A royal commission would achieve this as would a properly constituted independent commission,’’ Mr Stary said last night.