New development in Brittany Higgins rape trial

There’s been a new development in the trial of the man accused of sexually assaulting Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House.

A date has been set for the trial of the man accused of sexually assaulting former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House.

Bruce Lehrmann, who has pleaded not guilty, is charged with sexual intercourse without consent at Parliament House in Canberra in 2019.

The trial, which was tentatively set to begin earlier this month, will now begin on June 27.

It was delayed after Mr Lehrmann’s barrister pulled out just days before the trial was set to begin.

Bruce Lehrmann has been accused of raping Brittany Higgins at Parliament House.

On Wednesday, his new representative, Canberra barrister Steven Whybrow, asked for the trial to start on June 27.

ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said the new date was the latest possible time the trial could begin given the court’s tight timeframe.

“It is a problem,” she told the court.

She said “worst-case scenario” special arrangements would need to be made to ensure the trial could continue beyond its anticipated four week timeframe.

“I don’t think I can force you on earlier,” she told Mr Whybrow.

Mr Lehrmann’s trial will begin on June 27. Picture: NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Mr Whybrow said he was not in a position to give an estimate on how long he expected the trial to run, given the volume of material to get across.

“There is a lot of material,” he said.

Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers earlier this year unsuccessfully attempted to permanently halt or delay the trial due to the high level of publicity the case had received.

Justice McCallum in April dismissed their application, ruling Mr Lehrmann’s trial would go ahead as scheduled in June.

Originally published as New development in Brittany Higgins rape trial