A Queensland state politician says he clearly remembers Brittany Higgins telling him of her alleged rape in Parliament House weeks after the incident.

Giving evidence in the Federal Court on Monday, Liberal National Party MP Sam O’Connor recounted a text exchange he had with Higgins on April 19, 2019.

“Sorry, I’m just over it,” she wrote to him.

“This super f—ed up thing happened a little while ago and I’ve just lost the fight.”

In a phone conversation soon after those texts, Higgins said she had been raped by a male Liberal staffer, O’Connor told the court.

“She told me that he had taken her back to Parliament House and that he had raped her,” he said.

“I absolutely remember the word rape, that’s not something that you forget.”

O’Connor was giving evidence on Monday in a defamation trial brought by Bruce Lehrmann, who Higgins accuses of raping her.

He is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over a February 2021 report on The Project regarding the Higgins rape claim, which he vehemently denies and says destroyed his reputation.

Higgins alleges she was sexually assaulted by Lehrmann in Senator Linda Reynolds’ office on March 23, 2019.

In subsequent phone calls, Higgins told O’Connor that she didn’t want to report the alleged incident to police fearing it would “define her” personally and professionally.

O’Connor recounted how Higgins’ demeanour changed after the alleged rape, from being a “real go-getter” who was excited about her parliamentary job before the alleged incident.

“She absolutely was different,” he told the court.

Network Ten executive producer Christopher Bendall and editorial consultant Peter Meakin are also scheduled to get in the witness box after O’Connor’s evidence.

Fiona Brown, who was Reynolds’ acting chief-of-staff at the time of the alleged rape, could also take the stand on Monday afternoon.

Higgins has accused Brown of trying to silence her regarding the rape allegation, which came out at a sensitive time before a federal election the Coalition was widely considered as on track to lose.

Lehrmann stood trial in the ACT Supreme Court charged with raping Higgins, but it was derailed by juror misconduct. Prosecutors did not seek a second trial, citing concerns for Higgins’ mental health.

Lehrmann has been charged with allegedly raping another woman twice in Toowoomba in October 2021 and remains before Queensland courts.

He has not yet entered a plea but lawyers have indicated he denies that allegation.

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National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

-AAP