Fair trial for Brittany Higgins rape accused ‘shrinks by the hour’: Lawyer

The lawyer for the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins said a fair trial was becoming more difficult after Ms Higgins repeated her allegations on Wednesday.

The lawyer for the accused in the Brittany Higgins matter has said that it is becoming more difficult “by the hour” for his client to receive a fair trial after Ms Higgins repeated her allegations of sexual assault against him in a speech Wednesday at the National Press Club.

“A fair trial, free of the interference, grandstanding and other improprieties of late, is what the community, Ms Higgins and (the accused) is owed,” said Warwick Korn, partner at Korn Tlais Defence Lawyers in Sydney.

“The likelihood of this occurring seems to diminish by the hour,” he said.

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.

Bruce Lehmann’s lawyer Warwick Korn said the chances of a fair trial for his client were diminishing “by the hour”. Picture: Richard Dobson

In a statement released in the hours after her speech, in which the former political staffer said that she was raped on a sofa in Parliament House, Mr Korn said that the public attention brought to the matter was harming the cause of justice.

“(Bruce) Lehrmann has entered a plea of not guilty and the matter is set for trial,” said Mr Korn.

“Mr Lehrmann voluntarily provided a lengthy interview with investigating police and has followed every protocol asked of him since.”

“My client has, from the outset, denied not only the alleged assault but also that any sexual activity, of any kind, ever took place.”

Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann.

Mr Korn also said that Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s apology to Ms Higgins for the “terrible things that took place here” further threatened his client’s chance for a fair trial.

On Tuesday, Mr Morrison said he was “sorry to Ms Higgins for the terrible things that took place here.”

“The place that should have been a place for safety and contribution, turned out to be a nightmare,” Mr Morrison said.

According to the prime minister, Ms Higgins had “the courage to speak, and so here we are. We are sorry for all of these things, and in doing so, each of us take on accountability for change”.

Mr Korn said that “in light of the complexity, difficulty and importance of the task before any jury already, the behaviour of our prime minister and others in this last 24 hours truly beggars belief.”

Mr Lehmann is tentatively set to stand trial in June of this year.