The ABC and a News Corp unit agreed to pay $445,000 to settle defamation claims by Bruce Lehrmann over allegations that he raped fellow Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.
A former Liberal staffer has doubled down on her evidence that Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins were “touchy” with one another on the night she was allegedly raped by Lehrmann, a claim which he has denied.
Brittany Higgins has denied she tried to derail a criminal retrial of former colleague and alleged rapist Bruce Lehrmann in favour of a civil case with a lower standard of proof, as she revealed in court the federal government paid $2.3 million to settle her claims.
Facing cross-examination for the first time in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case, former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has denied she adapted her evidence to suit new information and dismissed the “insulting” proposition that she fabricated the alleged rape by Lehrmann out of fear she would lose her job.
Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has given details about her alleged rape by former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in Parliament House, an event she says left her “completely disconnected” from herself.
Network Ten has foreshadowed “graphic and distressing” evidence from Brittany Higgins, the first of many witnesses that will be called by the broadcaster, including an expert lip reader and toxicologist.
Kerry Stokes’ Seven Network has agreed to pay former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s rent for 12 months, a court has heard.
Nine has agreed to pay Euro Pacific CEO Peter Schiff $550,000 to settle a defamation suit brought over a 60 Minutes report on an international tax evasion investigation, avoiding a contested hearing on the damages bill in the case.
Network Ten, which is resisting paying the legal bill for Lisa Wilkinson in defamation proceedings by accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann, has argued it is only on the hook for paying costs “reasonably incurred” by the presenter.
Ten has questioned whether presenter Lisa Wilkinson should have separate representation in defending a defamation case by accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann, as it responds to a dispute over a promise to cover her legal bill.