Lehrmann launches multimillion-dollar claim as Higgins hits out on social media

• By Avi Yemini

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Bruce Lehrmann is readying to launch a hefty claim for damages against the ACT Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).

Lehrmann is preparing his legal team for the looming battle, persisting in his claim of innocence despite the ongoing controversy.

"As the findings of the inquiry by Walter Sofronoff KC are being examined by the ACT government, I am awaiting their release with utmost urgency," Lehrmann said to The Australian newspaper.

"If the director is proven to have acted maliciously or against his duty, I will pursue a multimillion-dollar claim for damages from both the ODPP and the ACT government."

In the previous year, Brittany Higgins, the woman who accused Lehrmann of rape in a ministerial office, secured over $2 million in compensation from the Commonwealth. She argued that the Morrison Government mishandled her employment situation.

Lehrmann, currently in the process of suing both ABC and Channel 10 for defamation, urged the swift release of the report.

The call comes amid whispers that the ACT Government might conceal the findings while considering the future of Shane Drumgold, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Over the weekend, Lehrmann openly voiced his outrage over the possible delay of the report's release.

"Complete disgrace! I recall someone saying that sunlight is the best disinfectant," he said on Instagram, alluding to Drumgold. "The chief minister should be ashamed."

Meanwhile, Higgins took to Twitter asserting that she wouldn't be "intimidated" by the "embarrassing" leak of her mobile data. The leaks, which disclosed private messages and her claimed Aboriginal heritage, continued to be revealed across media outlets.

Lehrmann reminded the public on Monday that the leaked phone data was submitted to the AFP as part of her rape case evidence. She insists the police "accidentally released it to the defence prior to the trial."

“None of this evidence was presented in court,” she said. “Without my consent, it continues to leak to the media.”

As the defamation trial looms in October, Higgins has resolved to fight on. She has garnered significant support on her post, even as she bristles against what she calls a "dangerous precedent" of "weaponising a victim's private data".