A lie told by a rookie opposition MP in Parliament has morphed over the past six months into a tale involving her party leaders, a parliamentary committee hearing spanning weeks, and, on Tuesday, an intense four-hour debate that saw the Prime Minister step in to deliver a rare, and vitally important, speech.

Ms Raeesah Khan has since apologised for her lie uttered on Aug 3 and for repeating it on Oct 4, when queried. She had made up an anecdote about accompanying a sexual assault victim to the police station, where officers had been insensitive. In fact, she had heard the account at a support group meeting, and had not received permission to share the story.