Brittany Higgins wants Linda Reynolds to withdraw ‘lying cow’ comment

Brittany Higgins isn’t backing down after she threatened legal action after being called a “lying cow” by Defence Minister Linda Reynolds.

Embattled Defence Minister Linda Reynolds is yet to formally withdraw her “offensive” comments that alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins is a “lying cow”.

Lawyers for Ms Higgins have revealed negotiations are continuing over the matter with the next 24 hours likely to prove critical in whether the matter results in defamation action.

A letter sent by Ms Higgins’s lawyer, Rebekah Giles, states that the “demeaning and belittling statement, in which you refer to our client as a member of the animal kingdom and declare her to be untruthful, is highly defamatory of our client’s good character and unblemished reputation”.

“The cavalier manner in which those words were spoken make it plain that they were not spoken privately or in confidence,” the letter said.

Ms Higgins, who claims she was raped on a couch in the minister’s office in 2019, described the remarks as “incredibly hurtful”, saying the revelations about the slur had hit her hard and left her distressed.

“The comments made by Minister Reynolds are incredibly hurtful,’’ Ms Higgins told news.com.au.

“I appreciate that it has been a stressful time but that sort of behaviour and language is never excusable.”

Senator Linda Reynolds has apologised for the ‘lying cow’ comment.

The Australian newspaper revealed a week ago that Senator Reynolds, who remains on sick leave, made the comments in her office on February 15 in front of other shocked staff.

While the Prime Minister has claimed the remarks came in a “stressful week” they were in fact made on the first day that news.com.au published Ms Higgins allegation that she was sexually assaulted by a former male colleague in the minister’s parliamentary office.

The Defence Minister recently announced she will not return to work until April 2, allowing her to skip Senate estimates and the next sitting of Parliament.

If she remains in the job she will not have to front Parliament again until mid May “on the advice of her cardiologist”.

Senator Reynolds issued a statement on Thursday insisting she wanted to ­“express how deeply sorry I am for these (lying cow) remarks and for any hurt and distress they have caused”.

Both the Prime Minister and Senator Reynolds have insisted she was referring to Ms Higgins’ claims of the support she received in the office after the alleged rape and was not passing judgment on Ms Higgins’ allegations.

“I want to express how deeply sorry I am for these remarks and for any hurt and distress they have caused,” Senator Reynolds said in a statement.

“In response to a letter from Ms Higgins’ lawyers on Thursday afternoon, discussions are now under way through our legal representatives in an effort to resolve this matter as soon as possible, with any resolution to include an apology,” Senator Reynolds said.

“I have never questioned Ms Higgins’ account of her alleged sexual assault and have always sought to respect her agency in this matter,” she said.

Ms Higgins said the remarks are an example of the toxic workplace culture at Parliament House.

“It’s just further evidence of the toxic workplace culture that occurs behind closed doors in Parliament House,” Ms Higgins said.