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Brittany Higgins looked tense when she was seen for the first time since her diary entries were made public and her former boss broke her silence over allegations she was raped in her office.
The 28-year-old was pictured on Saturday on her phone in a Brisbane park just hours after Linda Reynolds spoke for the first time about allegations Ms Higgins was raped at Parliament House in March, 2019.
Ms Higgins claimed the leak of her personal diaries was a breach of privacy – and said it comes after private photographs, texts and WhatsApp conversations were previously used by media without her permission.
She said she supplied her diary entries to help police build their criminal case – but none of it was used in court and she said it should have remained out of the public eye.
‘No journalist should have seen the photo of my diary,’ she said in a series of Twitter posts. ‘Stop publishing the private contents of my phone.’
Brittany Higgins broke cover on Saturday and was spotted looking tense while on her mobile phone in a Brisbane park after she slammed the latest breach of privacy
Brittany Higgins has blasted three mysterious leaks of her private information in the wake of her rape allegations against former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann. She spoke out as new details from her personal diary appeared in the media after key pages and extracts had been handed over in confidence to police
In a series of Twitter posts on Saturday, Brittany Higgins said she gave police a photo of a page from her diary in 2021 for their investigation but it had subsequently been leaked to the media
On Saturday, The Australian published new details from her diary as part of a tell-all interview with Ms Higgins’ former Cabinet minister boss, Linda Reynolds.
The diary contents listed meetings with a series of journalists and former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in March 2021.
‘I voluntarily provided this material to the police to help them form the brief of evidence and none of it was tabled in court,’ Ms Higgins tweeted on Saturday.
‘I entrusted police with my private information for the sole purpose that it could aid their investigation … nothing else.’
She claims it is just the latest in a string of incidents where information she supplied to the police has been made public that should not have been disclosed.
Ms Higgins added that it was the third time private material from her phone had been published, but the source of the leak is unknown.
‘I took a photo of an old page in my diary on July 7, 2021,’ she posted.
‘It is now being referenced in an article in the Australian.
‘This is the third time private images, texts and WhatsApps from my phone have been published by this particular news outlet.’
Ms Higgins went to the Australian Federal Police shortly after the alleged incident but asked officers to not pursue the investigation in April, 2019
The interview has upset Ms Higgins who took to Twitter accusing the newspaper of publishing private content that belonged to her
Bruce Lehrmann was later identified and he has vehemently denied the allegation against him
Ms Higgins accused Mr Lehrmann of raping her inside the Parliament House office of Ms Reynolds, where they both worked as political staffers, in 2019.
Mr Lehrmann’s criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court was cut short in October because of juror misconduct.
Prosecutors later dropped the charges over concerns of the impact a second trial would have on Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Mr Lehrmann denies the rape allegation, maintaining he and Ms Higgins never had any sexual interaction.
Mr Lehrmann’s trial heard suggestions Ms Reynolds was mainly concerned with the impact the rape claim could have on the upcoming federal election when she met with Ms Higgins after the alleged assault.
But on Saturday Ms Reynolds claimed she was the victim of a ‘very well-orchestrated political hit’ to take her and the then coalition government down.
The former government services minister categorically denied the suggestion during the trial and she told The Australian the accusation was ‘like a stake through my heart’.
‘Brittany’s story was perfect for the MeToo movement and for those of my colleagues in the Senate who were trying to bring down the government,’ she told the newspaper.
Ms Reynolds blasted Project host Lisa Wilkinson for putting Ms Higgins on teolevision to reveal details of the allegations.
She accused Wilkinson and The Project of ‘exploitation’ after airing the interview with Ms Higgins before police could become involved.
‘What was The Project thinking? Putting a woman as distressed as Brittany Higgins was on national TV before she’d even talked to the police again,’ she said.
Ms Reynolds said she had met with Ms Higgins on April 1, 2019 and claims Ms Higgins made no mention of being raped.
Ms Reynolds said the ministerial staffer appeared ‘apologetic’ and ’embarrassed’ at the time but claimed there was no mention of an assault.
An internal department email obtained by The Weekend Australian also suggested Ms Reynold’s team had taken appropriate steps to help Ms Higgins.
Ms Brown had contacted a senior official responsible for dealing with staff welfare to make sure she was provided the proper support.
She had notified Ms Higgins she was ‘able to pursue a complaint’ and ‘made it very clear that if she requires assistance in making a complaint’ she would be supported.
Lauren Barons, an assistant secretary for parliamentary business, emailed Ms Brown saying: ‘The steps you have taken are appropriate.’
Ms Higgins claimed she was shown no support but managed to work up a smile when she had her photo taken with Ms Reynolds at a campaign dinner.
The photo was taken around the same time she made tweets praising Ms Reynolds.
Ms Higgins claimed she was shown no support but managed to work up a smile when she had her photo taken with Ms Reynolds at a campaign dinner
Linda Reynolds has slammed Lisa Wilkinson for interviewing Brittany Higgins before she made a formal complaint to police regarding allegations of rape
Ms Higgins was photographed wearing the same white dress she allegedly wore on the night she was allegedly raped.
The photo was used as evidence in the trial to contest her claims she had kept the dress ‘under my bed in a plastic bag for a good six months, untouched, uncleaned’.
Ms Reynolds said she was suspicious something sexual had happened to Ms Higgins during their meeting on April 1 and suggested Ms Higgins speak to police.
Ms Brown led Ms Higgins to the AFP staff at parliament before Ms Reynolds said she returned saying she would not pursue it further.
Ms Reynolds said she was informed by AFP officers three days later that Ms Higgins intended to make a complaint which prompted her to offer support.
Ms Reynolds said she was not aware Ms Higgins had decided to contact journalists with her story and delay making a formal statement to police.
The West Australian senator also claimed she was the victim of a ‘a very well-orchestrated political hit’ after she was accused of covering up the rape.
Ms Reynolds said she only became aware Ms Higgins was going public with her allegations two weeks before the interview aired on The Project.
She said then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison publicly spoke out against her for not informing him about the serious allegation.
The former defence minister claimed she spoke with him in private the following day where he changed his tune.
‘He realised that it was never my position to tell anybody about Brittany Higgins’ story,’ she said.
She said the allegations and publicity had taken a toll on her health and she recalled collapsing on the bathroom floor of her Senate office, saying ‘I could have died’.
The former defence minister questioned why a ‘distressed’ woman was allowed to be interviewed by Wilkinson in the segment that aired on The Project in February, 2021
Ms Reynolds claimed pressure was added to her heart condition that already impacted her heart rate and blood pressure.
She bumped into then-health minister Greg Hunt the day before she was meant to deliver a major address to the National Press Club on February 24, 2021.
He told her she looked unwell prompting her to go to the doctors before she was seen by a cardiologist and admitted to hospital.
Ms Reynolds then took medical leave for her heart condition.
Ms Higgins reached a confidential settlement with the Commonwealth last year, reported to be worth several million dollars, over her claims of sexual harassment and discrimination at parliament.
Ms Higgins told The Weekend Australian ‘any revisionist history offered by my former employer at this time is deeply hurtful’.
‘I have already publicly accepted apologies from Senator Reynolds offered in the wake of my allegations becoming public both in the Senate and through the media in 2021,’ she said.
‘I have accepted Senator Reynolds’ apology following an incident where she publicly defamed me by likening me to a barnyard animal.
‘I’ve went through three reviews during the Morrison government tenure, a criminal trial, a mediation process with the Commonwealth and now I’m engaging with an independent inquiry into the criminal trial.’
Mr Lehrmann is suing multiple media outlets over their coverage of the rape allegations, while the ACT government has launched an independent inquiry into the handling of Ms Higgins’ complaint by police, prosecutors and a victims’ support service.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Ms Higgins for comment.
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