Bruce Lehrmann tells police 'world has been rocked' in interview about alleged Brittany Higgins rape

Bruce Lehrmann's version of the night on which he allegedly raped his former Liberal Party co-worker was laid out for an ACT Supreme Court jury this week, when a video of his lengthy police interview was played.

Lehrmann, 27, is on trial, having pleaded not guilty to a charge of engaging in sexual intercourse without consent.

He denies any sexual activity occurred with Ms Higgins in the office of Senator Linda Reynolds, for whom the pair worked when he is alleged to have raped her at Parliament House in March 2019.

Following the lifting of a non-publication order, what Lehrmann told Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman and Senior Constable Emma Frizzell during three hours of questioning can now be revealed.

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"Obviously, I reject the allegation," Lehrmann said at the start of the interview, which was recorded in Sydney in April last year.

"It simply didn't happen."

Lehrmann, who told investigators he was working for British American Tobacco at the time of the interview, went on to describe socialising with Ms Higgins and other colleagues on the night in question.

After starting in Kingston on a Friday night and drinking at The Dock, some of them moved on to Civic nightclub 88mph at his suggestion.

"It was a favourite of mine," Lehrmann told police of the 1980s-themed venue. "I like '80s music."

He described being "close" with Ms Higgins at 88mph, where he described her mood as "joyous, happy [and] excited".

The pair eventually left the club and caught an Uber to Parliament House, where Lehrmann told police he needed to pick up the keys to his apartment and do a bit of work.

Despite it being the early hours of a Saturday morning by this stage, he said Ms Higgins indicated to him that she needed to go into the office as well.

Lehrmann detailed the process of entering parliament after-hours and eventually arriving in the ministerial suite of Senator Reynolds, where he said he headed left to his desk as Ms Higgins turned right.

"I never saw Brittany in the office again," Lehrmann told investigators, adding that he did some work on "question time stuff" for Senator Reynolds before booking another Uber and heading home in it.

Detective Inspector Boorman later informed Lehrmann that police had spoken to Senator Reynolds' chief of staff, Fiona Brown, who told them the alleged rapist had explained his after-hours entry to her by saying he had returned to Parliament House "to drink his whisky".

Lehrmann dismissed this suggestion, saying he did not remember keeping alcohol in the office at that time and telling investigators he would have just stayed out if he had wanted to continue drinking.

The 27-year-old described the occasion as "such an innocuous night", telling detectives late in the interview how he had learned Ms Higgins had accused him of rape when a journalist contacted his British American Tobacco boss on the day the claims hit the media.

He said it was then that he thought more about some things that had happened a month prior to the allegations becoming public, when he said he had received emails from someone using his name.

Lehrmann told police "a keyboard warrior" had also been impersonating him on Twitter, using his picture and account names like "Bruce the rapist" to follow him and tweet "disgusting things".

Each time he reported such an account, he said, another one would pop up in its place.

Lehrmann also spoke about struggling with his mental health after Ms Higgins' claims were reported publicly.

"I think you can tell my world has been rocked," he told police.

The trial continues.

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