‘Just plain wrong’: Brittany Higgins slams radio host’s claim on compensation figure

Former political staffer Brittany Higgins has publicly called out a prominent radio host for his claims on her compensation claim.

Brittany Higgins has slammed a prominent Sydney radio host over his claim her compensation payout was “substantially higher” than $3 million, declaring his headline was “just plain wrong”.

In 2021, Ms Higgins alleged she was raped by a former colleague while working in then-defence minister Linda Reynolds’ office in 2019.

That man was later identified as fellow staffer Bruce Lehrmann, who was charged with rape.

He has vehemently denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty during a trial in October last year.

That trial was aborted due to juror misconduct and a rescheduled trial was abandoned by prosecutors over concerns of Ms Higgins’ mental health. The charge was formally dropped by the DPP in December 2022.

In December the former staffer reached a settlement with the Commonwealth after launching civil action.

The astonishing rebuke from the former political staffer to 2GB host Ben Fordham came after the radio personality suggested the compensation payout from Ms Higgins’ confidential settlement with the Federal Government could have been more than anticipated.

Former political staffer Brittany Higgins (pictured) has fired back at Ben Fordham, saying reporting on the figure of her settlement with the federal government is “just plain wrong”. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Mr Fordham on Monday posted a tweet with the headline: “It is substantially higher than $3 Million’: How much was paid to Brittany Higgins?”

“This headline is just plain wrong,” she fired back in her own tweet 30 minutes after the post went up.

The article in question referred to the settlement of a personal injury claim lawyers acting for Ms Higgins had filed against the Federal Government last year.

Despite being settled confidentially, media outlets have reported Ms Higgins received $3M in compensation.

But in the tweet, she refuted this number,

“I started the legal process with the Coalition Govt in early 2022,” Ms Higgins wrote.

“The settlement was well below the reported figure the media has run with – let alone beyond it?

“I’m going to have to start taking legal action against media outlets.”

Ms Higgins fired back at Mr Fordham's suggestions on Twitter. Picture: Supplied / Twitter

A short time later, Mr Fordham’s article was updated to acknowledge Ms Higgins’ comments about the settlement being below the reported figure.

The headline, which remains up, now reads: “‘Just plain wrong’: Brittany Higgins rejects speculation over payout.”

“Brittany Higgins is denying speculation over her payout,” the article states.

In response to the update to Mr Fordham’s article, Ms Higgins’ partner David Sharaz wrote: “Not exactly an apology.”

The current stoush comes amid Ms Higgins’ complaints of personal diary entries being referenced in an article in The Australian.

In a series of tweets she said she had provided this information to the police to help them form the brief of evidence.

“No journalist should have seen the photo of my diary,” she tweeted on Saturday in response to the report.

“Stop publishing the private contents of my phone.”

Mr Fordham’s article has since been updated after Ms Higgins called out his reporting as “just plain wrong”. Picture: Supplied / ACRA