Brittany Higgins hits back at Linda Reynolds, who described her as a ‘lying cow’

Defence Minister Linda Reynolds’ description of Brittany Higgins as a “lying cow” shows how toxic Parliament is, her former staffer says.

Brittany Higgins, the former Liberal staffer described by Defence Minister Linda Reynolds as a “lying cow”, has described the remarks as “incredibly hurtful”.

In her first public comments on the matter, Ms Higgins has revealed the revelations about the slur today had hit her hard and left her distressed.

Nearly three weeks ago, she exclusively revealed to news.com.au that she had allegedly been raped inside Senator Reynolds' office while working for her.

That same day, Senator Reynolds described her as a “lying cow” in the open plan office, but said she was not referring to the alleged rape and instead her account of what occurred and the support she was offered after the alleged incident.

“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.

“It’s just further evidence of the toxic workplace culture that exists behind closed doors in Parliament House.”

Linda Reynolds pictured becoming emotional in the Senate while speaking about Brittany Higgins, a few days after calling her a “lying cow”. Picture: APH via NCA NewsWire

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he will not sack Senator Reynolds for the “offensive” description.

Speaking on Thursday morning, Mr Morrison called for compassion for the Defence Minister on the grounds she had a “stressful week” after it was revealed she had known for two years that an ex-staffer had alleged she was raped on her office couch.

“A couple of points I’d like to make. First, she has already spoken to her staff and apologised for those comments,’’ the Prime Minister said.

“So she knows those comments to have been inappropriate and wrong. The second point I make – and I share her view, obviously, about that. The second point, though, is they were made in her private office in a stressful week. And they weren’t made in a public place. And nor were they intended for that.

“That doesn’t excuse it, not for a second. And she made the appropriate apologies to her staff and rectified that.”

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The PM asked for understand for Senator Reynolds. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Peter Lorimer.

Liberal party staffer Brittany Higgins.

According to The Australian newspaper, the remarks were made on February 15, the same day that news.com.au published the story of Ms Higgins alleged rape.

At the time, Senator Reynolds had refused requests in writing for a response to the claims for four days, before calling Ms Higgins a “lying cow” over her account of how the office handled her allegations.

Mr Morrison stressed she had never questioned her account of the alleged rape.

“The third one I want to be very clear about is she was not making those comments, as she said to me this morning, in relation to the allegation of sexual assault,’’ Mr Morrison said,

“She was not saying that about that, at all. Her comments, she said to me, related to the further commentary about levels of support provided, and her frustrations about how she felt that they were doing everything they believed in their power to provide support, clearly, over a period of time there was a very different view about that. And we’ve acknowledged that, and that’s why we’re addressing the issues the way that we are.”

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The PM said the comments weren’t referring to Brittany’s alleged rape, but her reports of her dealings with Reynolds’ office. Picture: ABC News

Asked if she should resign, the Prime Minister said they were made in “private”.

“She has deeply regretted them,” he said. “She made them in a private office. She immediately apologised. It was soon after, I should say.

“She apologised to the staff about making what were inappropriate comments, long before it became public. And what is – I would just simply say to people – you know, it’s been a very traumatic several weeks for many people. People directly involved by these events who are our primary concern. But equally, there have been others who have been drawn into this. They’re human beings.

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Senator Linda Reynolds allegedly referred to Brittany Higgins as a “lying cow”. Picture: Sam Mooy/Getty Images

“They say things that sometimes they deeply regret. I’m sure that all of you have found yourself, at a time of frustration, perhaps saying things you regret. And I would simply ask you, given the comment was made in a private place, that you offer the same generosity to how you perceive something you might have said, and perhaps apply the same standard to Linda Reynolds who, at the time, was under significant stress.

“She deeply regrets it. They were offensive remarks. She should never have made them. I don’t condone them. But what matters is that we continue to address the substance of the issues here, as we are.”