Lip reader claims Brittany Higgins was ‘plied’ with alcohol at pub
A lip-reading expert has testified in court about what was allegedly said between Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann at a bar on the night of the alleged assault.
A lip-reading expert wrote in a report that he believed Brittany Higgins was being plied with alcohol and at one point Bruce Lehrmann told her “drink that all now” on the night of her alleged sexual assault, a court has heard.
Bruce Lehrmann is suing Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson for defamation with the high-stakes trial entering its closing stages.
He is suing for defamation over Ms Wilkinson’s February 2021 The Project interview with Brittany Higgins during which she made sexual assault allegations against her former colleague.
Ms Higgins has alleged she was raped inside the ministerial suite of Senator Linda Reynolds in Parliament House in the early hours of March 23 2019.
Mr Lehrmann has consistently denied the allegations and has told the court he had no sexual contact with Ms Higgins.
The court on Tuesday heard evidence from Fiona Brown, who was Senator Reynolds’ chief of staff at the time, as well as lip-reading expert Tim Reedy — the last of the witnesses in trial.
The trial will not sit on Wednesday before both sides give their closing submissions on Thursday and Friday.
THE LIP READER
A UK-based lip-reading expert is giving his evidence to the court about what was allegedly said between Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann at a bar on the night of the alleged assault.
Justice Michael Lee allowed Network 10 to call lip-reading expert Tim Reedy, to give evidence about what he asserts was said between Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann.
The court heard that Mr Reedy was profoundly deaf and was a self-taught lip-reader.
The court has heard that Mr Reedy has been asked to analyse CCTV of Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann at The Dock bar.
Mr Reedy and a lip-speaker, were flown to Australia from the UK to give evidence.
The court heard Mr Reedy was certain about some words that he said were spoken and less certain about others.
He told the court he ran a magnifying program over some of the footage and described the pixelation as being “very sharp”.
“I had the luxury of going back and forth, playing it many times until I was certain this was the answer, this was what they said in the bar,” Mr Reedy said.
Mr Reedy told the court he took three days to examine the CCTV and write his report.
He said he had been a forensic lip-reader since 2010 and had worked for several media companies and newspapers, including working on the royal coronation for the Sunday Times.
Justice Lee asked whether that involved being asked to decipher “what one minor royal said to another minor royal.”
“Yes,” Mr Reedy told the court.
He also said he had helped police with investigations.
“PLYING”
In Mr Reedy’s report, he made a note describing a portion of the CCTV.
“Man is lining up drinks, plying the woman with alcohol,” Mr Reedy’s note read.
Mr Lehrmann’s barrister Steve Whybrow SC asked Mr Reedy how he came to write the note.
“Because this was a party and everyone’s having fun,” Mr Reedy said.
“What stuck out was Ms Higgins was drinking and she’s literally in the corner of a table, and there are some drinks there, on the table, and they are pushed in her direction.
“And this suggests she had been plied by alcohol.”
Mr Whybrow questioned whether that assessment had coloured Mr Reedy’s assertions about what was said on the CCTV.
“When I saw the video, I saw the man was encouraging, enticing her to drink everything that was on the table,” Mr Reedy told the court on Tuesday.
“DRINK THAT ALL NOW”
The court heard that in his report, Mr Reedy asserted that at one point Mr Lehrmann said “drink that all now” and Ms Higgins replied “I don’t want to”.
During his evidence to the court earlier in the trial, Mr Lehrmann denied those words were spoken, saying “I would completely disagree with that” and “I don’t recall that ever taking place”.
Mr Whybrow attempted to cast doubt on Mr Reedy’s evidence and questioned whether he had ever been tested as to the accuracy of his report.
“Would you accept that in the circumstances where you have never been assessed as to the accuracy of your lip-reading, that some of your opinions might not be correct,” Mr Whybrow said.
“I would say that they’re more correct than not,” Mr Reedy said.
Mr Whybrow objected to Mr Reedy’s report being tendered, noting his accuracy had never been assessed and that he had never given evidence in court.
Justice Michael Lee allowed Network 10 to tender Mr Reedy’s report, however noted that he took into account Mr Whybrow’s criticisms when assessing how much weight he should give it.
“THERE WAS NO COVER UP”
Ms Brown was on Tuesday questioned about allegations that Ms Higgins had been discouraged from making a police complaint.
Mr Lehrmann’s barrister Steve Whybrow asked if there would have been any “political expediency” from dissuading Ms Higgins from going to police.
“There’s none, absolutely none,” Ms Brown said.
“The story wasn’t about the politicians, the story was about two staff members ... These were two 23-year-olds and there was no cover-up. “The police were consulted, the Department of Finance was consulted, the DPS knew. There was no cover up.‘’
Ms Wilkinson’s barrister Sue Chrysanthou SC told Justice Michael Lee on Tuesday that it was not alleged that Ms Brown was involved in a systemic cover up.
“DID SOMETHING HAPPEN”
Fiona Brown was the chief of staff in Senator Linda Reynolds’ office at the time and has been questioned about a meeting she had with Brittany Higgins on Thursday, March 28, 2019.
Ms Brown previously told the court that during the meeting Ms Higgins said to her: “I remember him on top of me.”
On Tuesday, Ms Brown told the court she told Ms Higgins: “Did something happen to you that you didn’t want to happen?”
Ms Brown told the court that Ms Higgins shook her head.
She told the court she also asked, “did something happen that you didn’t want to happen?”
Ms Brown said that Ms Higgins shook her head in response.
Ms Wilkinson’s barrister Sue Chrystanthou SC questioned whether she used that phrase, noting it wasn’t included in her contemporaneous notes of the meeting
Ms Brown said she was using “neutral language, because she had been told to do so by the Department of Finance.
“I DIDN’T HAVE THE RIGHT”
The court has heard that on Friday, March 29, Senator Reynolds and Minister Alex Hawke directed Ms Brown to go to police, fearing that a sexual assault had occurred.
The court heard that Ms Brown was phoned by Mr Hawke’s chief of staff and was told that he wanted the matter reported to police.
However, she refused, Ms Brown told the court and at one stage feared she would lose her job.
Ms Brown said she also believed the ministers were “covering” themselves.
She said at the time she believe she believed she needed Ms Higgins’ consent to go to the police
“I needed more than that, I didn’t have the right, it was Ms Higgins’ right,” Ms Brown told the court.
Ms Brown was asked by Justice Michael Lee whether at the time she believed that Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins may have had sex – consensual or otherwise.
“It was possible,” Ms Brown told the court.
Following a meeting with Senator Reynolds, Ms Brown and Ms Higgins, she was encouraged to speak to the police if she wished and she later met with two federal officers inside Parliament House.
The court has heard that that April 1 meeting was held in the room where Ms Higgins was discovered naked and where she alleges she was sexually assaulted.
“YOU WOULDN’T”
Ms Brown also denied that she told Ms Higgins she would be allowed to relocate to the Gold Coast but wouldn’t return.
Ms Brown said that in a meeting, Ms Higgins was offered the opportunity to work on the 2019 federal election from Western Australia or to work out of the Gold Coast.
Ms Higgins, during her evidence, told the court that she was offered by Ms Brown on April 3 the opportunity to relocate to her home in Queensland.
According to Ms Higgins, after she asked how she would come back to work should she go back to the Gold Coast, she was told by Ms Brown: “Well you wouldn’t”.
Ms Chrysanthou questioned Ms Brown whether Ms Higgins asked: “If I go to the Gold Coast, how would I come back?”
“No,” Ms Brown said.
“And you said ‘you wouldn’t’,” Ms Chrysanthou asked.
“No,” Ms Brown said.
“ON TOP OF ME”
Ms Brown, who was Senator Reynolds’ chief of staff at the time of the alleged sexual assault, took the stand late on Monday afternoon.
She told the court she was informed by the Department of Finance on Tuesday, March 26, 2019 that Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins had entered Parliament House intoxicated after hours.
The court heard that Ms Brown was told that Ms Higgins was found naked on a couch.
She was told that an ambulance was offered, however Ms Higgins declined
Ms Brown said she was “deeply shocked” that the pair had entered Parliament House after hours.
Ms Brown told the court that she called Mr Lehrmann into a meeting where he said he came back to Parliament House to drink whiskey.
During his evidence, Mr Lehrmann admitted he lied to Ms Brown and said he went back to Parliament House to pick up his key before he worked on question time folders.
Mr Lehrmann was dismissed from Senator Reynolds’ office during that meeting for a breach of the ministerial code of conduct.
The court heard that Ms Brown then called Ms Higgins in for a meeting and she denied that she was told by Ms Higgins that she woke up to find Mr Lehrmann “on top” of her.
“She said ‘Bruce was on top of me’,” Ms Chrysanthou said.
“No,” Ms Brown.
Ms Brown further denied that Ms Higgins was hysterical, however she noted that Ms Higgins had “water in her eyes” and she handed her a tissue.
The court has heard that Ms Brown told Ms Higgins to take the day off and work from home for a couple of days.
Ms Brown also offered to allow Ms Higgins to go home to the Gold Coast.
However she denied doing this because Ms Higgins told her that she had been assaulted.
Ms Brown told the court that Ms Higgins made no sexual assault allegation in their meeting on Tuesday, March 26.
However she said that at a subsequent meeting two days later that Ms Higgins disclosed an allegation to her.
“She pivoted, she was quite casual, she just said out of the blue ‘I remember him on top of me’,” Ms Brown said.
“I was shocked by that.”
She said Ms Higgins did not use Mr Lehrmann’s name in the meeting.
“SUPER F***ED UP”
Meanwhile, Gold Coast-based Queensland MP Sam O’Connor told the court on Monday that he knew Ms Higgins from a time when she worked in his office before she moved to Canberra.
The court has heard that on March 29, 2019, Ms Higgins texted Mr O’Connor saying: “Sorry I’m just over it, this super f***ed up thing happened a while ago.”
The Member for Bonney told the court that that evening he spoke to her on the phone, and Ms Higgins said she had gone out drinking with a group of fellow Liberal advisers.
“She talked about how another staffer, I didn’t know his name at the time, she mentioned that he worked for George Brandis and that he was from Toowoomba,” Mr O’Connor said.
“I remember that she told me he had taken her back to Parliament House. And that he had raped her.”
He was asked by Network 10’s barrister Dr Matt Collins KC what words she had used.
“I absolutely remember the word rape – that’s not something you forget,” Mr O’Connor said.
“And she absolutely said he had taken her back to Parliament House, something along the lines of (he) had to drop in there or something
“I remember, because I’d previously been a Federal MP staffer, I remember thinking how unusual that was at that particular time, early Saturday morning and not around any busy week like budget week.”
The trial continues.
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