Bin Lorry Crash Driver Was Suspended

30 July 2015, 14:14 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

The driver of a council bin lorry which crashed killing six people had been suspended by his previous employer when he started working for Glasgow City Council, an inquiry has heard.

Harry Clarke had also previously been given a final formal written warning over his attendance record by First Bus, the fatal accident inquiry (FAI) at Glasgow Sheriff Court heard.

He was suspended from duty by First Bus in December 2010 and started working for Glasgow City Council in January 2011.

Mr Clarke was driving the council truck in Glasgow city centre on December 22 last year when it went out of control after witnesses reported he appeared to lose consciousness at the wheel.

Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69, from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, were struck and killed by the vehicle.

Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, also died.

Solicitor Advocate Ronald Conway, representing the family of Ms Tait, told the inquiry that Mr Clarke was given a formal written warning in the autumn of 2009 over absences from work and had also been given other warnings that year.

These included a two-week absence in August 2009 following an episode of vertigo and a ten-day absence for a knee condition.

The driver appealed against the written formal warning but this was rejected.

Cross-examining Douglas Gellan, a cleansing services waste manager for Glasgow City Council, Mr Conway asked whether if he had known about the final formal warning it would have acted as a "red flag'', to which Mr Gellan agreed.

Mr Conway described Mr Clarke as a "deeply unattractive candidate for Glasgow City Council''.

He suggested that the council would not have employed Mr Clarke as a driver if they had known about his absence record and the warnings.

He said: "There's not the remotest chance that you would have let this man behind the wheel of a large vehicle.''

Mr Gellan replied: "It's a case of not just me determining if he is fit to drive the vehicle.

"There's lots of evidence here. We would have taken it into account when making that decision.''

The inquiry earlier heard that Mr Clarke started applying for jobs with Glasgow City Council in 2010.

Mr Conway told the seventh day of the FAI that Mr Clarke's employment record did not appear to contain any reference from First Bus.

He suggested that the council failed to ask First Bus about Mr Clarke's employment record.

Mr Gellan explained that it is up to the candidate to decide which two previous employers he names as referees.

Mr Conway said: "Someone has blundered, either someone in First Bus who has signally failed in their duty to members of the public, or someone in Glasgow City Council who has carried out a grossly incompetent recruitment process.

"That's the only two alternatives here.''

Mr Gellan replied: "It seems to be, yes.''

A Crown Office Spokesman said today, "Crown Counsel concluded that the driver of the lorry should not be prosecuted in respect of this tragic incident.

"Despite its catastrophic consequences there is no evidence to suggest that the driver's conduct at the time amounted to a breach of the criminal law."