Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds has denied she suspected Brittany Higgins had been raped following an incident in her ministerial office, as her handling of the case is probed at a defamation trial.
The former defence minister is suing Higgins over a series of social media posts containing alleged mistruths that she believes have damaged her reputation.
Higgins’ lawyer Rachael Young quizzed the retiring politician on Friday about the office incident on March 23, 2019, and her response in the days and weeks that followed. She said the senator knew Higgins had been found undressed on her lounge in the early hours of that morning, that Bruce Lehrmann had been on top of her and that he left the building before Higgins, who appeared intoxicated.
She also said Reynolds had wanted Higgins to …