Brittany Higgins says her former boss, Linda Reynolds, has threatened to sue her over comments made on Instagram, as their acrimonious feud shows few signs of abating.

Ms Higgins tweeted on Thursday that she had been sent a concerns notice on behalf of Senator Reynolds.

She did not go into further detail, except to say “I am considering my legal options”.

Senator Reynolds has made no public comments.

The latest move in the dispute that began after Ms Higgins went public with allegations she was raped in the office of Senator Reynolds, then the defence minister, came days after the former Liberal staffer lashed out on social media.

In an Instagram story on Tuesday, Ms Higgins accused Senator Reynolds of “continuing to harass me” and saying “this has got to stop”.

The outburst followed news articles that revealed Senator Reynolds was pursuing further action in their ongoing feud over Ms Higgins’ alleged rape at Parliament House.

Ms Higgins posted screenshots of headlines to her Instagram story on Tuesday, followed by furious remarks against Senator Reynolds.

“These are just headlines from today,” wrote Ms Higgins.

One article from The Sydney Morning Herald was headlined: ‘ ‘Punitive’: Reynolds accuses Attorney-General of prejudice over Lehrmann inquiry’.’

It related to accusations that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus denied Senator Reynolds legal funding for political reasons during the inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann’s aborted rape trial.

Mr Lehrmann’s trial on a charge of rape was abandoned late in 2022 due to juror misconduct. A retrial was also abandoned, due to prosectors’ concerns for its possible effects on Ms Higgins’ mental health.

Mr Lehrmann vehemently denies all wrongdoing.

Tweet from @BrittHiggins_

A second headline in The West Australian stated that Senator Reynolds was going to refer Ms Higgins’ compensation payment from the Commonwealth to the new National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Ms Higgins expressed her frustration at the developments.

“This is from a current Australian senator, who continues to harass me through the media and in the Parliament,” she wrote.

“This has been going on for years now. It is time to stop,” she wrote.

Senator Reynolds is also pursuing defamation action against Ms Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz, through the Western Australian Supreme Court. She has accused Mr Sharaz of being “a constant participant in the trolling” against her.

The Australian reports that Senator Reynolds has confirmed she will refer Ms Higgins’ reported $2.5 million compensation payment to the NACC, which began operating this week.

“The basis for the settlement and the reasons why the Attorney-General barred me and Senator [Michaelia] Cash from defending serious allegations against us have not been explained to us or to the Australian people,” Senator Reynolds said, according to the newspaper.

“I believe that the Attorney-General must not only be impartial, but must also be seen to be impartial, which requires transparency.”

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