Linda Reynolds has received an apology from the ACT government and been paid damages over accusations made by former territory director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold that the senator sought to politically interfere in a police investigation.
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The ACT paid $90,000 to Senator Reynolds, which was split between $20,000 for legal costs and $70,000 for damages.
Senator Reynolds, a former Coalition minister, had sued the ACT and Mr Drumgold for defamation, over the allegations made about her conduct in the course of Bruce Lehrmann's rape trial.
Mr Lehrmann was charged with raping Brittany Higgins, a colleague on Senator Reynolds' staff, at Parliament House. Mr Lehrmann has consistently denied the allegation and his trial was abandoned after juror misconduct.
The handling of the trial was later examined by an ACT board of inquiry.
Senator Reynolds told The Australian: "The ACT has accepted the findings of the board of inquiry, specifically that allegations made about my conduct during the criminal trial were defamatory."
The Canberra Times has confirmed the ACT government reached a settlement and apologised to Senator Reynolds.
Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury confirmed the amount paid to Senator Reynolds on Monday morning.
Justice and Community Safety Directorate Director-General Richard Glenn said in a statement provided to The Australian the ACT government "unreservedly retracts those allegations ... [and] sincerely apologises for the damage, distress and embarrassment it has caused to Senator Reynolds."
The Justice and Community Safety Directorate spokeswoman said the compromise settlement was reached on Friday, March 1.
"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," the spokeswoman said.
"The settlement includes a formal apology from the territory 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."
The spokeswoman said the directorate would not be commenting further.
Senator Reynolds in December launched legal action against the ACT government and Mr Drumgold in a West Australian court.
A writ lodged in the West Australian Supreme Court on Monday, December 4 said Mr Drumgold sent a letter accusing the senator of "disturbing conduct" during Bruce Lehrmann's rape trial.
The letter to the Australian Federal Police was widely reported by media allegedly causing Senator Reynolds significant "loss and damage", according to the document seen by AAP on Thursday.
The Guardian broke the story in late 2022, with an article headlined "Bruce Lehrmann trial: ACT's top prosecutor complained about Linda Reynold's disturbing conduct".
The letter prompted the ACT government to commission a board of inquiry to examine the handling of the high-profile case.
The Guardian published parts of the letter to ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan following a freedom of information request after Mr Lehrmann's trial was abandoned.
Mr Drumgold alleged Senator Reynolds had "engaged in direct coaching of the defence cross-examination of the complainant".
Senator Reynolds' initial application sought aggravated damages with interest and an injunction restraining Mr Drumgold and the ACT government from republishing the material.
Mr Drumgold is seeking to have the findings the inquiry, led by Walter Sofronoff KC, quashed, alleging in the ACT Supreme Court Mr Sofronoff's report was "infected" with apprehended bias.
with AAP
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
