The trial of former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann – the man accused of raping Brittany Higgins inside Parliament House in 2019 – is set to begin in the ACT Supreme Court today. The trial, which is expected to last up to 7 weeks, was supposed to start in June but was delayed after chief justice Lucy McCallum ruled – “regrettably and with gritted teeth” – that comments made publicly by Network 10’s The Project host Lisa Wilkinson and other media personalities about the case was “clearly a contempt of court”. Last month, McCallum also said she would “flush out any person who follows Ms Higgins on Twitter” and ask them to excuse themselves from the jury panel. Higgins says she intends to give evidence at the trial. Lehrmann denies any sexual activity took place and has pleaded not guilty.