Bruce Lehrmann Breaks Silence on Brittany Higgins Rape Allegations During TV Interview with 7News Spotlight

Never-before-seen footage has emerged of the night Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann entered Parliament – the night she was allegedly raped in the office of a former federal cabinet minister.

Mr Lehrmann broke his silence in an extended episode of 7News Spotlight on Sunday evening – during which reporter Liam Bartlett asked him a series of blunt questions about what happened the night Brittany Higgins alleges he raped.

Ms Higgins alleged that Mr Lehrmann, her former colleague, sexually assaulted her in Parliament after a night out in 2019.

Prior to Sunday’s revealing interview, Mr Lehrmann’s version of events had only been told during his ACT Supreme Court trial last year – when his police interview was broadcast to a jury.

The former staff member strongly denied having any sexual contact with Ms Higgins during this interview, but never released his version of events to the media.

During the explosive interview, Mr Lehrmann accused Ms Higgins of lying about the alleged assault to keep her job and slapped a bruise which she said had been caused by her knee which had trapped during the alleged assault.

The photo of the bruise was released during an interview with Lisa Wilkinson on The Project in February 2021 – the first time Ms Higgins has publicly alleged she was raped.

Mr Bartlett said: ‘That bruise unequivocally suggested that you immobilized her.’

Mr. Lehrmann chimed in, “Well, it was made.”

“It’s the only explanation is that it was fabricated or it’s a bruise from much later.”

Photos of the bruise were shown to the ACT Supreme Court last year after investigating officers extracted the contents of his phone for metadata analysis.

Experts could not find evidence of the photo until January 2021.

Furthermore, he accused Ms Higgins of fabricating the allegations against him to save his job.

A security breach was triggered the night Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann entered Parliament in the early hours of March 24, 2019 while intoxicated.

Mr. Lehrmann lost his job because of the breach and Ms. Higgins was called to a meeting and questioned by her superiors.

He told Spotlight that at that meeting he thought she had told a “white lie” because she thought her job was in jeopardy.

“I think a white lie to save a job happened,” Mr. Lehrmann said.

This photo of a bruise on Ms Higgins’ leg was shown on The Project in February 2021. Mr Lehrmann claimed the image was ‘fabricated’ or ‘a bruise from much later’.

“She saw me take the turf and she got in touch with media elites who latched onto this, given the environment, at the time, in 2021, to arm her.”

It was also first broadcast that a former colleague, Lauren Gain, who was where they had been before the alleged assault, saw Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins passionately kissing.

Mr Bartlett said: ‘[The witness] told the police and I quote, “you and Brittany Higgins kissing and passionately”.

Mr. Lehrmann replied, without flinching: “Garbage.

Mr Bartlett continued: “But it makes a lot of sense – canoodling, snogging, call it what you like, you had a belly full of grog.

“Things were getting a little heated. So at 1:30am on a Saturday, a nice, quiet, private place from Parliament.

Mr Lehrmann firmly said that was not the case at all and maintained that he had only returned to Parliament to collect his keys and collect notes for Question Time, before returning home to his small friend at 2:30 in the morning.

“How did she end up naked on a couch?” asked Mr. Bartlett.

Mr Lehrmann said ‘it’s a great question – I can’t comment on it – it was news to me, as well as to the rest of the country’.

CCTV footage captured the couple at a Canberra bar earlier in the night. During his interview, Mr Lehrmann was asked about an alleged eyewitness account of him and Ms Higgins kissing at the scene – but he denied anything of the sort took place.

The episode also aired, for the first time, a vision of Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins arriving in Parliament moments before she alleged he raped her.

The Spotlight feature included security footage from when the couple walked into Parliament together in the early hours of March 24, 2019.

In the footage, Ms Higgins could clearly be seen in her white Kookai dress, wearing her shoes as she entered the defense suite. The footage ended as they entered the defense suite.

Ms Higgins said she was very drunk and had fallen asleep on a sofa in Senator Reynolds’ office. She alleged that she woke up to see Mr. Lehrmann having sex with her.

However, Mr Lehrmann said they were both walking in opposite directions once inside the defense suite.

“I haven’t seen her again,” Mr. Lehrmann told Mr. Bartlett.

Mr Bartlett asked him why he hadn’t checked on Ms Higgins for the 40 minutes he was in the ministerial suite.

“That doesn’t add up – you’re sitting in this office for about 40 minutes working on material for a minister in the next few days,” he began.

Mr Lehrmann added: ‘But that was the first time she was about to step in.’

Mr. Bartlett pointed out that Senator Reynolds would not need those notes for a week, but Mr. Lehrmann insisted that it was essential that he work on the memoirs.

Mr Lehrmann was asked when he learned he had been charged with rape, to which he quickly replied “February 15, 2021”.

“That date rolls off your tongue,” Mr. Bartlett said.

Mr. Lehrmann replied: “Yes. It was quite a gloomy day.

The former member of staff’s day began at 8am when he read an article by news.com.au reporter Samantha Maiden – the story detailed Ms Higgins’ allegations, but Mr Lehrmann did not know that the allegations pertained to him.

“I, like everyone else, was horrified. I think there were text messages between me and friends saying ‘I used to work with her.’ Horrified.

He was later called to a meeting with his bosses at British American Tobacco, where he worked at the time, and told that his superiors had received a communication from a reporter about the allegations.

Mr Lehrmann recalled: “They’re suspending me pending an internal review. And, you know, they said ‘What can we do?’ And I said ‘Well, it’s pretty clear that I need a lawyer”.

When he found out there would also be a feature film on The Project later that night, Mr Lehrmann said “there were a lot of tears”.

Ms Higgins is seen here after passing through Parliament security

The 7News special also screened clips from Mr Lehrmann’s first police interview

The feature also included a recording of a five-hour lunch between Ms Higgins and her boyfriend David Sharaz, Wilkinson and Channel 10 producer Angus Llewellyn.

During this lunch, the group could be heard laughing at the last name of a former colleague, commenting on the wine they were drinking and talking about the inner workings of Parliament.

Throughout the interview, Mr. Lehrmann was asked key questions: Did you rape Brittany Higgins? Have you had consensual sex? Did you kiss her? Were you intimate with her?

To each question, Mr. Lehrmann answered “no”.

Despite speculation that Mr. Lehrmann was paid to do the interview, a spokesperson for the network said that was not the case.

“7NEWS Spotlight made no payment to Bruce Lehrmann for the interview, but the program helped with hosting as part of the filming of the story,” they said.

Mr Lehrmann was tried in a 12-day hearing in October last year, but a mistrial was declared after a member of the jury brought banned reading material into court.

Shane Drumgold, the ACT’s Director of Public Prosecutions, dropped the case altogether in December due to concerns about Ms Higgins’ mental health.

Ms Higgins (pictured in court with partner David Sharaz) alleged Mr Lehrmann, her former colleague, sexually assaulted her in Parliament after a night out in 2019