What Higgins told Wilkinson about alleged rape in crucial meeting

The details of Lisa Wilkinson’s first meeting with Brittany Higgins have been revealed in court documents as part of the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial.

Lisa Wilkinson this week gave evidence to the Federal court. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short.

WARNING: Graphic content.

When Brittany Higgins met with Lisa Wilkinson for the first time in a Sydney hotel room in early 2021, she told her that Bruce Lehrmann told her to go lay down before she alleges she was sexually assaulted, court documents have revealed.

On January 27, Ms Higgins, her partner David Sharaz, Ms Wilkinson and producer Angus Llewellyn met for an informal meeting.

The five-hour meeting was recorded on Mr Llewellyn’s phone and has featured heavily during a Federal Court trial as Mr Lehrmann sues Ms Wilkinson and Network 10 for defamation.

Mr Lehrmann’s legal team has focused attention on the statements Ms Higgins made during the conversation about a photo of a bruise and claims her phone was wiped.

Mr Lehrmann is suing for defamation, arguing Ms Wilkinson’s interview with Ms Higgins in February 2021 defamed him.

He has denied sexually assaulting Ms Higgins, arguing that after entering Senator Linda Reynolds’ office in the early hours of March 23, 2019, she turned right and he turned left.

Lisa Wilkinson and Brittany Higgins. Picture: Supplied.

In his evidence, Mr Lehrmann said that he worked at his desk for 30 to 40 minutes before leaving without seeing his colleague again that morning.

During Ms Higgins’ pre-interview meeting with Ms Wilkinson, she gave her version of events.

The 268-page transcript of the conversation was this week released by the Federal Court, as part of the defamation trial, revealing the words Ms Higgins told Ms Wilkinson and Mr Llewellyn.

Ms Higgins described how, after a night out drinking, they agreed that – given they lived in roughly the same direction – she and Mr Lehrmann would share a taxi home.

According to the transcript, she said at one point Mr Lehrmann said, “we’ve got to stop by Parliament House, I’ve got to get something”.

She said she remembered having trouble getting through the security checkpoint, before taking a lift up to the ministerial level and arriving at Senator Reynolds’ office.

Asked if she remembered anything from the lift, she replied “no, not at all.”

“I remember getting into the office, at that point, and I remember him sort of being away for a while. And I was kind of sitting on the edge (of a windowsill) and I remember just feeling really tired, and really sleepy,” Ms Higgins said.

“ … And I was really tired. I remember him saying, ‘oh, I’ll just be a minute, you can lay down’. And I remember going into the minister’s office and just laying down on the couch.”

Bruce Lehrmann is suing Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson for defamation. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift.

Asked by Mr Llewellyn whether Mr Lehrmann had told her to lie on the couch, Ms Higgins replied: “I just, I remember him being like ‘oh, I’m not finished yet, just go, you can just lay down for a bit, I’ll be there’.”

“And I was like, ‘okay, that’s, sure, whatever, finish whatever you need to do’.”

Ms Higgins said that she believed Mr Lehrmann went around the corner to his desk.

“I was just sort of waiting for him to finish so I could leave and so we could catch the cab home,” Ms Higgins said.

She said she then “passed out”.

“And the next thing, when I finally came to, I was pinned down to the minister’s couch,” Ms Higgins said.

“And I couldn’t get up, and he had, his leg was on my thigh … I remember, I was in quite a lot of pain because his leg was on my thigh, and he was on top of me. And at that point, he was assaulting me.”

Mr Lehrmann previously told the court he entered Ms Reynolds’ ministerial suite, went to his desk, turning in a different direction to Ms Higgins, and spent 30 to 40 minutes writing ministerial notes before leaving Parliament House and taking an Uber home.

He told the court he did not see Ms Higgins at all after they went their separate ways when entering Ms Reynolds’ office.

At that point in the conversation, Ms Wilkinson paused to offer Ms Higgins some tissues.

Lisa Wilkinson and barrister Sue Chrysanthou. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Nikki Short.

Ms Wilkinson: “Was he saying anything to you?”

Ms Higgins: “No. When I came to, I was crying. I remember telling him to stop it, he wouldn’t listen.

“And he got to the point where I kind of realised, I don’t know how, I don’t know how I’ve kind of contextualised it or realised it. But I realised that it had been going on for a little while because he was already about to be finished.”

Asked by Ms Wilkinson whether she was in pain, Ms Higgins said: “I was in a lot of pain.”

She added: “I was really inebriated and I couldn’t get him off me” and “I was telling him to stop.”

Ms Higgins said that afterwards she couldn’t get up off the couch.

“And I think, when he realised I couldn’t get off the couch, there was this weird panic moment where he looked at me,” Ms Higgins said.

“And then that’s when he left. And after he left, I still couldn’t get up, and I was just laying on that couch for a really long time, until I passed out again.”

Mr Llewellyn asked her whether Mr Lehrmann had used a condom.

“No, he didn’t,” Ms Higgins replied.

“I remember I was worried about that. I bought a pregnancy test, I was really stressed. Yeah, but I was fine. Yeah.”

Brittany Higgins’ mother Kelly Higgins. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Flavio Brancaleone.

“I GOT A SENSE, AS HER MUM”

The court has heard that when Ms Higgins moved from Queensland to Canberra in 2018 to work in Parliament House, she had landed her “dream job”.

Throughout that year, Ms Higgins stayed in contact with her mother, Kelly Higgins, for the most part through social media.

Kelly Higgins, appearing as a witness for Network 10 this week, told the Federal Court, that sometime in March or April 2019, she noticed a change in her daughter’s demeanour.

She noted her daughter’s “lack of enthusiasm” and that she “started to withdraw” from communicating with her.

“She wasn’t wanting to communicate at all. I got a sense, as her mum, something was wrong,” Kelly Higgins told the Federal Court.

On November 21, 2019, Kelly Higgins met with her daughter at a restaurant.

She said she remembered the date of the dinner because she posted pictures of herself with Brittany to Instagram.

On that evening, Kelly Higgins told the court, her daughter disclosed to her allegations she had been raped inside Parliament House earlier that year.

“She was extremely intoxicated and felt unwell,” Kelly Higgins said when asked what her daughter told her.

“The next thing she remembers she was on the lounge. And she believes she passed out.

“She was awakened with pressure and pain on her leg … When she was coherent, Bruce Lehrmann was on top of her raping her.”

“Did she actually use the words ‘he was raping me?’ Justice Michael Lee interjected to ask.

“Yes,” Kelly Higgins said.

Brittany Higgins gave evidence as a Network 10 witness. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short.

Kelly Higgins said she was told by her daughter “I’m glad you know” and noted she seemed emotional.

“She didn’t want to talk about it anymore,” Kelly Higgins told the court on Monday.

“I, of course, had just been told a mother’s worst nightmare. I wanted to know more. And she said ‘the person works with me in my job’.”

Kelly Higgins said she asked her daughter why nobody had helped her.

“I wanted to know why nobody called an ambulance and got her to a hospital,” Kelly Higgins told the court.

In the days following her interview with The Project going to air, Brittany moved back home to be with her mother.

“Her joy was gone, her desire was gone, her personal happiness was gone,” Kelly Higgins told the court.

“She didn’t want to do anything for herself. The woman that I knew was a totally different woman than the woman that turned up at my house.

“The curtains were drawn, we didn’t leave the apartment, she didn’t go anywhere.

“And it’s been that way, and it’s continued to get worse and worse, for the last three years.

“I understand everybody sees her when she does step out in public, but that’s a very different woman from the woman who is at home. She is a broken soul.”