The retiring Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has been awarded a $90,000 settlement and an apology from the Australian Capital Territory government after its former director of public prosecutions made defamatory allegations against her.
The compromise settlement, which was finalised on Friday, included $70,000 in damages and $20,000 in legal costs. The agreement means the matter is considered finalised and will not continue to court.
“We accept that allegations about senator Reynolds made by the former Director of Public Prosecutions were found by the Board of Inquiry to be defamatory,” a spokesperson for the Justice and Community Safety Directorate said.
“The settlement includes a formal apology from the ACT and retraction of the allegations contained in the letter from the former Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold SC.
“We also agreed to an undertaking from the acting Director of Public Prosecutions that he will direct his staff not to further publish the allegations made against senator Reynolds.”
Reynolds launched the action against the ACT government and former chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold in December over allegations Drumgold made in a letter to the Australian federal police accusing the senator of “disturbing conduct” during the Bruce Lehrmann trial. Parts of the letter were first published by Guardian Australia in late 2022.
Lehrmann consistently denied Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation and pleaded not guilty. His trial was aborted after juror misconduct and no findings were made against Lehrmann. Prosecutors decided not to pursue further action, citing concerns about the impact it may have on Higgins’ mental health.
In a statement published on her facebook page, Reynolds said the settlement was the “fifth defamation claim I have resolved to my satisfation”.
“Since the conclusion of the criminal trial R v Lehrmann and Ms Brittany Higgins’ compensation claim against the Commonwealth, I have set about vindicating my reputation, which I consider has been wrongly damaged,” the senator said.
Reynolds also published the official apology she had received.
“As part of the settlement the ACT has accepted the findings of the Board of Inquiry, specifically that the allegations made about my conduct during the criminal trial were defamatory, and have provided the following apology and retraction:
“On 7 December 2022, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions provided to Mr Christopher Knaus of the Guardian Australia a letter addressed to the Australian Federal Police dated 1 November 2022 concerning Senator Reynolds and her conduct during the criminal trial of Mr Bruce Lehrmann (Letter).
On behalf of the Australian Capital Territory, the Director-General of the Justice and Community Safety Directorate, accepting that the allegations contained in the Letter have been found by the Board of Inquiry to be defamatory of Senator Reynolds, unreservedly retracts those allegations.
The Director-General of the Justice and Community Safety Directorate sincerely apologises for the damage, distress and embarrassment it has caused to Senator Reynolds.”
A separate case involving her former employee, Higgins, and her partner, David Sharaz, over comments they made on social media was still ongoing, with mediation talks scheduled for this week.
Reynolds announced last month that she intends to stand down from politics at the next election.
