Higgins claims diary details leaked to the media

Brittany Higgins says a private diary entry she gave to police investigating rape allegations against a fellow MP was leaked to the media in violation of her privacy.

The contents of the diary, which details meetings with a number of journalists and former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in March 2021, were mentioned in The Australian on Saturday.

The newspaper also features an interview with former Minister Linda Reynolds, in which she claims she was the victim of a “very well orchestrated political blow” designed to bring down her and the then coalition government.

Ms Higgins accused her colleague Bruce Lehrmann of raping her in 2019 in the office of Ms Reynolds, for whom they both worked, at Parliament House.

The criminal case against Mr. Lehrmann before the ACT Supreme Court was dropped in October due to jury misconduct.

Prosecutors later dropped the charges over concerns about the impact of a second trial on Ms Higgins’ mental health.

Mr Lehrmann denies the rape allegation and claims he and Ms Higgins have never had any sexual interactions.

In a series of Twitter posts on Saturday, Ms Higgins said she had given police a photo of a page from her diary for their investigation in 2021.

“I have voluntarily provided this material to the police to assist them in preparing the evidence and none of it has been presented in court,” she said.

“Therefore no journalist should have seen the photo of my diary.”

Ms Higgins added that it was the third time private material from her phone had been released.

“Stop posting my phone’s private content. I have entrusted my private information to the police for the sole purpose of assisting their investigation into my sexual assault and nothing else,” she said.

Mr Lehrmann’s trial heard suggestions Ms Reynolds was mainly concerned about the impact the rape lawsuit could have on the upcoming federal election when she met with Ms Higgins after the alleged assault.

Ms Reynolds categorically rejected the suggestion during the trial, telling The Australian the allegation was “like a stake through my heart”.

“Brittany’s story was perfect for the MeToo movement and for my colleagues in the Senate who were trying to overthrow the government,” she told the newspaper.

Mr. Lehrmann is suing several media outlets for their coverage of the rape allegations, while the ACT government has launched an independent investigation into the handling of Ms. Higgins’ complaint by police, prosecutors and a victim support service.

Ms Higgins reached a confidential settlement with the Commonwealth last year, reportedly worth millions of dollars, over her allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination in Parliament.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk