Never-before-seen footage has emerged of the night Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann entered Parliament House, before the night she was allegedly raped on the couch of a former federal minister.
Mr Lehrmann broke his silence in an extended episode of 7News Spotlight on Sunday night – during which journalist Liam Bartlett asked him a range of direct questions about what happened the night Brittany Higgins alleges he raped her.
Ms Higgins alleged Mr Lehrmann, her former colleague, sexually assaulted her in Parliament House after a night out in 2019.
Prior to the tell-all interview on Sunday,Mr Lehrmann’s version of events had only been told via his trial in the ACT Supreme Court last year – when his interview with police was played before a jury.
The former staffer strongly denied having any sexual contact with Ms Higgins during that interview, but had never divulged his version of events to the media.
During the explosive interview, Mr Lehrmann accused Ms Higgins of lying about the alleged assault to her job, and slammed a bruise she claimed was caused by his knee pinning her down during the alleged assault.
The photo of the bruise was aired on The Project in February 2021 – the first time Ms Higgins publicly alleged she was raped.
Bruce Lehrmann (pictured) has broken his silence in a TV interview two years after Brittany Higgins accused him of raping her in Parliament House
Mr Bartlett said: ‘This bruise suggested in no uncertain terms that you had pinned her down.’
Mr Lehrmann interjectd: ‘Well, it was fabricated.’
‘That’s the only explanation, is that it was fabricated or it’s a bruise from much later.’
Photos of the bruise were shown to the ACT Supreme Court last year. Investigating police officers extracted the contents of her phone prior to the trial, and could not find evidence of the photo prior to January 2021.
Further, he accused Ms Higgins of inventing the allegations against him to save her job.
When Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins entered Parliament House late at night on March 23 2019, and while intoxicated, a security breach was triggered.
Mr Lehrmann subsequently lost his job, and Ms Higgins was called into a meeting.
‘I think that a white lie to save a job occurred … because she saw me getting that turf and she is come into contact with media elites that have latched onto this, given the environment, at the time, in 2021, to weaponise it,’ he said.
The explosive interview on Sunday night began with four key questions: Did you rape Brittany Higgins? Did you have consensual sex? Did you kiss her? Were you intimate with her at all?
To each question, Mr Lehrmann replied ‘no’.
It was also aired for the first time that a bartender from the venue where they were partying with colleagues prior to the alleged assault saw Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins kissing, passionately.
Mr Bartlett said: ‘[The witness] told police and I quote, “you and Brittany Higgins kissing and passionately”.’
Mr Lehrmann replied, unflinching: ‘Rubbish.’
Mr Bartlett continued: ‘But it makes a lot of sense – canoodling, snogging, call it what you like, you’d had a bellyful of grog.
‘Things were getting a bit hot. So 1.30 in the morning, on a Saturday, a nice, quiet, private place to Parliament House.’
Mr Lehrmann firmly said that was not that case at all, and maintained he only went back to Parliament House to collect his keys and collect some question time briefs, before going home to his girlfriend at 2.30am.
‘How did she end up naked on a couch?’ Mr Bartlett asked.
Mr Lehrmann said ‘that’s a great question – I can’t talk to that – that was news to me, along with the rest of the country’.
The Spotlight feature included security footage of the moment the pair entered Parliament House together in the early hours of March 24, 2019.
In the footage, Ms Higgins could clearly be seen in her white Kookai dress, carrying her shoes as she entered the defence suite. The footage ended when they entered the defence suite.
Ms Higgins said she was highly intoxicated and fell asleep on a couch Senator Reynolds office. She alleged she woke up to Mr Lehrmann having sex with her.
However, Mr Lehrmann said they both walked in opposite directions once they were inside the defence suite.
‘I didn’t see her again,’ Mr Lehrmann told Mr Bartlett.
Mr Bartlett quizzed him on why he didn’t check on Ms Higgins in the 40 minutes he was in the ministerial suite.
‘That doesn’t add up – you’re sitting in that office for something like 40 minutes working on material for a minister in the couple of days afterwards,’ he started.
Mr Lehrmann interjected: ‘But it was her first question time that she was about to step into.’
Mr Bartlett pointed out Senator Reynolds wouldn’t need those notes for another week, but Mr Lehrmann was insistent it was essential that he work on the briefs.
The episode also aired, for the first time, vision of Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins arriving at Parliament House moments before she alleges he raped her
CCTV footage captured the pair at a Canberra bar earlier that night. During his interview, Mr Lehrmann was grilled over an alleged eyewitness account of him and Ms Higgins kissing at the venue – but he denied anything of the sort took place
Mr Lehrmann was asked when he found out he had been accused of rape, to which he quickly replied ‘February 15, 2021’.
‘That date rolls off your tongue,’ Mr Bartlett said.
Mr Lehrmann replied: ‘Yep. That was a pretty dark day.’
The former staffer’s day began at 8am, when he read an article by news.com.au journalist Samantha Maiden – the story detailed Ms Higgins allegations, but Mr Lehrmann didn’t know the allegations were about him.
‘I, like, everyone, was horrified. I think there were text messages between me and friends are saying “I used to work with her.” Horrified.’
He was then called into a meeting with his bosses at British American Tobacco, where he worked at the time, and was told his superiors had received communication from a journalist about the allegations.
Mr Lehrmann recalled: ‘They suspend me pending an internal review. And, you know, They said “What can we do?” And I said “Well it’s pretty clear I need a lawyer”.’
When he found out there would also be a feature on The Project later that night, Mr Lehrmann said ‘there were a lot of tears’.
Ms Higgins is seen here after making her way through Parliament House security
The 7News special also screened clips from Mr Lehrmann’s first police interview
The feature also included a recording of a five-hour boozy lunch between Ms Higgins and her boyfriend David Sharaz, Wilkinson and Channel 10 producer Angus Llewellyn.
During that lunch, the group could be heard laughing about a former colleagues surname, commenting on the wine they were drinking, and about the inner workings of Parliament House.
Despite speculation that Mr Lehrmann was paid to do the interview, a network spokesperson said that was not the case.
‘7NEWS Spotlight made no payment to Bruce Lehrmann for the interview, however the program assisted with accommodation as part of the filming of the report,’ they said.
Mr Lehrmann was tried in a 12-day hearing in October last year, but a mistrial was declared after a jury member brought banned reading material into the court.
Shane Drumgold, the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, dropped the case altogether in December due to concerns over Ms Higgins’ mental health.
Brittany Higgins alleged Mr Lehrmann, her former colleague, sexually assaulted her in Parliament House after a night out in 2019