LIVE BLOG: Linda Reynolds vs. Brittany Higgins defamation case: day seven

Linda Reynolds was in tears as she finished testifying Friday.

The Liberal senator will not appear in the Western Australian Supreme Court in Perth for the seventh day of her defamation case against her former staffer Brittany Higgins because Parliament has resumed.

She was photographed in the Senate on Monday morning.

Ms Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins over a series of social media posts that she says damaged her reputation.

Ms Higgins claims Ms Reynolds failed to support her following her rape allegations against former colleague Bruce Lehrmann in 2019, and that she was forced to choose between filing a complaint with police and her political career.

The social media posts at the heart of the case perpetuate the claim that Ms Reynolds did not support her.

Ms Reynolds denies those allegations and told the court last week that she tried to support Ms Higgins but avoided addressing the assault with her directly because she did not consider herself a counsellor.

Under questioning from Ms Higgins’s barrister Rachael Young SC, the senator said she felt comfortable knowing Ms Higgins was being provided with counselling services.

On Friday, Ms Reynolds broke down as she told the court she blamed herself for the death of Labor senator Kimberley Kitching.

Ms Kitching suffered a fatal heart attack on 10 March 2022. She was 52 years old.

Earlier this week, Ms Reynolds told the court that Ms Kitching approached her after morning prayers in Parliament in 2021 and told her she was sorry to be the bearer of bad news.

Ms Kitching said Labour had been made aware of the rape that took place in Ms Reynolds’ office and were going to “rain hell” on her.

She learned of the rape through an anonymous email sent directly to her which described the rape but did not mention Ms Higgins by name.

Ms Kitching handed the letter to the Australian Federal Police, rather than to her Labor colleagues.

Ms Reynolds told the court that Penny Wong was angry with Ms Kitching when Labour found out about the rape because she had given the letter to the AFP instead of to her.

“Penny Wong said something like: ‘The Labour Party could have used this as a weapon’,” Reynolds told the court.

He said Ms Kitching was angry and upset by the situation.

On Friday, Ms Reynolds told the court that Ms Kitching had denied warning her about Labour’s plan to weaponise Ms Higgins’ rape allegations.

Ms Reynolds said Ms Kitching was “furious”.

Asked why she had linked Ms Higgins’ rape allegations to Ms Kitching’s death, Ms Reynolds cried uncontrollably.

“I wanted to tell the truth,” he said.

Ms Young asked: ‘Because it shows your contempt for the Labour Party?’

Ms Reynolds replied: “That shows my guilt. If she had not revealed her confidence to me… that was when she became furious with me… leading to her being ostracised by the Labour Party.”

“I shouldn’t have weakened myself by telling him, even in private.

‘She was so angry with me and she was losing weight… I feel guilty for telling the senators that that led to that.

“I think what I said… provoked (the Labour Party) to hound her to death. I feel a great deal of guilt.”