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Glasgow bin lorry driver urged to answer questions at inquiry Glasgow bin lorry driver accused of telling 'pack of lies' over medical history
(about 5 hours later)
The driver of the Glasgow bin lorry that crashed, killing six people, was asked to imagine his own daughter had been killed as he came under pressure to answer questions at an inquiry. The driver in the Glasgow bin lorry crash who blacked out at the wheel has refused to apologise after being accused of telling a “pack of lies” about his medical history.
Harry Clarke, 58, has refused repeatedly to answer questions on his medical history at the inquiry into what happened on 22 December, when he blacked out at the wheel and his lorry hit and killed six pedestrians. A lawyer for one of the six people killed told Harry Clarke, 58, “it’s all your fault” on Friday as legal teams pressed him to tell the truth at an inquiry into the accident on 22 December last year.
The council driver faced claims he was to blame for the crash because he failed to advise doctors and his employers about a history of dizzy spells and fainting.
Related: Glasgow bin lorry crash: driver describes last moments before fatal accidentRelated: Glasgow bin lorry crash: driver describes last moments before fatal accident
During a second day of evidence, the council worker was asked: “Do you not have the decency to think of someone other than yourself?” Dorothy Bain QC, representing the family of Jacqueline Morton, who died in the crash, accused him of misleading medics and telling a pack of lies on job application and DVLA forms in order to keep his HGV licence.
Dorothy Bain QC, acting for relatives of crash victim Jacqueline Morton, said on Friday: “If your daughter was killed and there was a public inquiry trying to find out what might have prevented her death, what would you hope those who might have some information about it would do at that public inquiry?” The Crown Office ruled out bringing any charges against Clarke ahead of the fatal accident inquiry but he could face a private prosecution led by the families of the victims.
Clarke said: “I don’t wish to answer that question.” The threat of court action means he used his legal right not to answer questions relating to his medical and employment history despite pressure from relatives’ lawyers.
Bain said: “Do you really not wish to answer? Do you not have the decency to think of someone other than yourself on this occasion? If you’ve not done anything wrong, why not help today? If you have done something do you not think you should begin to make amends for that by choosing to answer?” Bain said: “If your daughter was killed and there was a public inquiry trying to find out what might have prevented her death, what would you hope those who might have some information about it would do at that public inquiry?
Clarke said he did not want to respond and did not comment when Bain went on to describe his “dreadful” work absence record and accused him of deliberately misleading doctors to keep his job as a driver. “Given the sympathy and care you’ve been shown by everyone, do you not have the decency to think of someone other than yourself on this occasion? If you have done something do you not think you should begin to make amends for that by choosing to answer?”
She said: “You should never have been behind the wheel of an HGV and you know that.” The inquiry has previously heard evidence that Clarke blacked out at the wheel of a stationary bus while employed by First in April 2010.
Bain said Clarke could begin to make amends by answering questions but he repeatedly said: “I don’t wish to answer that question.” Bain said it only came to light in February when a consultant checked his medical records. She said he was told at that point not to drive but still had the “audacity” to apply to get his licence back.
The inquiry heard that Clarke had told a “pack of lies” on the various medical questionnaires he had completed on job applications and licence renewals. The lawyer said: “You should never have been behind the wheel of an HGV and you know that. It’s actually all your fault, do you see that? If you had told the truth in 2010, there is every likelihood the six innocent people who lost their lives would still be here today.”
Bain said: “It’s probably the case that in line with the kind of person you have revealed yourself to be here you will try and shuffle off blame on to various GPs.” Throughout her comments, Clarke said: “I don’t wish to answer that question.”
She added: “If you had told the truth in 2010, there is every likelihood the six innocent people who lost their lives would still be here today.” Clarke again said he did not want to answer. Erin McQuade, 18, her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69, Stephenie Tait, 29, Morton, 51, and Gillian Ewing, 52, were killed as the lorry driven by Clarke veered out of control during a routine rubbish collection three days before Christmas.
The representative for the Morton family said Clarke’s actions were “unbelievable” and “remarkable”, but he continued to refuse to answer her questions. The truck mounted the pavement on Queen Street and travelled towards George Square before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel.
Bain told Clarke: “You took a chance that other people wouldn’t have given you. First Bus wouldn’t have given you, Glasgow city council wouldn’t have given you, you know that. Ronald Conway, acting for Tait’s family, told Clarke: “I’m going to ask that you say sorry to the people that died that day. I want you to say sorry for the lies told in 2010 and that those lies led to the deaths of six people.”
“You took a chance and it’s taken the lives of six innocent people. The difference between you and them is that you had a choice and they didn’t. They had no chance.” Clarke said “no, I can’t say that,” and the lawyer told him “you’ll never get another chance”. Conway pleaded with the witness to give the family a “crumb of comfort” by telling the truth so a similar tragedy could be prevented.
Clarke continued to say he “did not wish to answer that question” throughout. He said: “Every morning when you get up and look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself questions about this matter, you can’t decline to comment to your own heart, can you?” The driver said: “I can only answer what I can answer.”
The inquiry also heard that Clarke did not disclose his blackout at the wheel of a First Bus in 2010 when questioned by doctors after the fatal bin lorry crash last year. Mark Stewart QC, for the McQuade and Sweeney families, asked Clarke to take the risk of prosecution “on the chin” and answer questions put to him.
Bain said it only came to light in February when a cardiologist checked his medical records. She added that the cardiologist told Clarke not to drive but he applied for his licence back. On Thursday, Clarke gave an account of the day of the accident, describing the moment he blacked out as “like a light switch”. He was later diagnosed with neurocardiogenic syncope, also known as vasovagal syndrome, which affects the heart rate and blood pressure. Clarke said he now has an implant and will return to hospital for more tests in September.
“Do you know what you had the audacity to do? You asked for your licence back,” she said. “It’s actually unbelievable. It’s beyond belief, how could you have done that? How could you?” The inquiry heard that he was not formally interviewed by police after the crash but answered questions put to him by a representative from the Crown Office. The inquiry was adjourned until Tuesday.
She told the witness he had shown a “reckless indifference to the consequences of your actions” for years and that it took what happened last year to “uncover your web of lies”. Clarke repeated that he did not want to answer.
Mark Stewart QC, representing the family of Erin McQuade, then cross-examined Clarke and asked him if he was feeling under pressure. Clarke said: “Well, I’ve had better days.”