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| Glasgow bin lorry crash: driver may face charges south of the border | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| The driver in a bin lorry crash that killed six people in Glasgow may still face charges south of the border for misleading authorities about his medical history, despite Scotland’s Crown Office telling an inquiry it would not prosecute him. | |
| Lesley Thomson QC, the solicitor general for Scotland, told the fatal accident inquiry into last December’s crash that the Crown Office would not prosecute Harry Clarke. The inquiry had heard detailed evidence that Clarke suffered blackouts – including fainting at the wheel while working as a bus driver in 2010 – which were not disclosed. | Lesley Thomson QC, the solicitor general for Scotland, told the fatal accident inquiry into last December’s crash that the Crown Office would not prosecute Harry Clarke. The inquiry had heard detailed evidence that Clarke suffered blackouts – including fainting at the wheel while working as a bus driver in 2010 – which were not disclosed. |
| But a prosecution of Clarke south of the border by the Crown Prosecution Service is still possible, if it was made on behalf of the Swansea-based DVLA for failing to disclose his medical history, the inquiry heard. | |
| Dr Gareth Parry, a senior medical adviser for the DVLA, told the inquiry that a prosecution for non-disclosure was under consideration when asked directly by one of the victim’s barristers. Such a prosecution could be possible, Dorothy Bain QC said, because the DVLA is headquartered in Wales. | |
| The bin lorry ploughed through Christmas shoppers in central Glasgow on 22 December last year after Clarke allegedly lost consciousness behind the wheel. | The bin lorry ploughed through Christmas shoppers in central Glasgow on 22 December last year after Clarke allegedly lost consciousness behind the wheel. |
| It emerged at the inquiry that Clarke, who was suspended last week by Glasgow council, had a history of blackouts, which he allegedly concealed from the council, medical examiners and the DVLA. | It emerged at the inquiry that Clarke, who was suspended last week by Glasgow council, had a history of blackouts, which he allegedly concealed from the council, medical examiners and the DVLA. |
| The inquiry heard that non-disclosures or false disclosures could be punishable by a £1,000 fine or two years’ imprisonment, but Parry said he was not aware of such prosecutions in Scotland. | |
| “Might it be that a good way of bringing home to people the need to make truthful declarations on a D4 [DVLA paperwork] form would be to prosecute robustly and rigorously those who make a false declaration?” Bain asked. Parry replied: “Yes.” | |
| Earlier, Thomson was pressed to confirm the Crown Office’s stance on whether Clarke would face criminal charges brought by the crown before Clarke appears at the inquiry, because he could refuse to testify or answer specific questions if his evidence could be used against him in a later trial or a private prosecution. | |
| Sheriff John Beckett, who is overseeing the inquiry at Glasgow sheriff court, needed to hear from both prosecutors and lawyers for the victims’ families about the potential for Clarke to be prosecuted before deciding whether to warn him he had to be careful when giving evidence to the inquiry. | Sheriff John Beckett, who is overseeing the inquiry at Glasgow sheriff court, needed to hear from both prosecutors and lawyers for the victims’ families about the potential for Clarke to be prosecuted before deciding whether to warn him he had to be careful when giving evidence to the inquiry. |
| “Normally, if a person is clearly told by the crown that he will not face criminal proceedings, then he will not face criminal proceedings,” Beckett said on Wednesday. “However, there have been rare instances where private individuals have been allowed to bring a private prosecution in the high court. | “Normally, if a person is clearly told by the crown that he will not face criminal proceedings, then he will not face criminal proceedings,” Beckett said on Wednesday. “However, there have been rare instances where private individuals have been allowed to bring a private prosecution in the high court. |
| “That is a very rare occurrence, and there are significant procedural obstacles to be overcome before it can occur, so that normally a court might be entitled to assume that if the Crown is committed to a position whereby it cannot prosecute there will be no criminal prosecution.” | “That is a very rare occurrence, and there are significant procedural obstacles to be overcome before it can occur, so that normally a court might be entitled to assume that if the Crown is committed to a position whereby it cannot prosecute there will be no criminal prosecution.” |
| He asked Thomson whether the Crown would bring fraud charges against Clarke, 58, for failing to disclose his health history to the DVLA and on job application forms. Referring to the Crown Office’s decision not to prosecute him, Thomson said its decision covered all possible evidence about his conduct before the crash. | He asked Thomson whether the Crown would bring fraud charges against Clarke, 58, for failing to disclose his health history to the DVLA and on job application forms. Referring to the Crown Office’s decision not to prosecute him, Thomson said its decision covered all possible evidence about his conduct before the crash. |
| “I consider that the scope of the decision in February 2015 described in respect of the tragic incident extends to all aspects of the manner of Mr Clarke’s driving on 22 December as well as information previously provided to doctors, the DVLA and Glasgow city council in respect of the incident in April 2010 when he was employed by First Bus,” she told the sheriff. | “I consider that the scope of the decision in February 2015 described in respect of the tragic incident extends to all aspects of the manner of Mr Clarke’s driving on 22 December as well as information previously provided to doctors, the DVLA and Glasgow city council in respect of the incident in April 2010 when he was employed by First Bus,” she told the sheriff. |
| Speaking during a break in proceedings, one of the representatives of the families said they were “not surprised and remain disappointed” by Thomson’s comments regarding prosecution. | Speaking during a break in proceedings, one of the representatives of the families said they were “not surprised and remain disappointed” by Thomson’s comments regarding prosecution. |
| Unlike in England and Wales, the DVLA has no powers in Scotland to mount prosecutions for breaching its rules on non-disclosure of important medical evidence by a driver: such a case would need to be taken up by the Crown Office. | Unlike in England and Wales, the DVLA has no powers in Scotland to mount prosecutions for breaching its rules on non-disclosure of important medical evidence by a driver: such a case would need to be taken up by the Crown Office. |
| The Crown Office said in February it had no plans to charge Clarke because it had no evidence of any criminal misconduct at the precise moment he fainted, an event he could not have foreseen. It came under heavy attack after restating that position last week following press enquiries, and now faces intense pressure to rethink its approach to these cases. | The Crown Office said in February it had no plans to charge Clarke because it had no evidence of any criminal misconduct at the precise moment he fainted, an event he could not have foreseen. It came under heavy attack after restating that position last week following press enquiries, and now faces intense pressure to rethink its approach to these cases. |
| The Herald newspaper has reported two other cases this week where the Crown Office has failed to prosecute motorists who killed people after a blackout, including a bus driver who killed a colleague after fainting at the wheel for the third time. Prosecutors in both cases said there was no evidence the drivers’ conduct at the time of each crash was criminal. | The Herald newspaper has reported two other cases this week where the Crown Office has failed to prosecute motorists who killed people after a blackout, including a bus driver who killed a colleague after fainting at the wheel for the third time. Prosecutors in both cases said there was no evidence the drivers’ conduct at the time of each crash was criminal. |
| Families of some of the six victims of the bin lorry crash have expressed their anger that prosecutors have ruled out any charges, and hinted at the weekend they could consider a private prosecution. Lawyers for the family of one victim, Jacqueline Morton, told the Sun on Sunday they were “surprised and disappointed” at the Crown Office decision. | Families of some of the six victims of the bin lorry crash have expressed their anger that prosecutors have ruled out any charges, and hinted at the weekend they could consider a private prosecution. Lawyers for the family of one victim, Jacqueline Morton, told the Sun on Sunday they were “surprised and disappointed” at the Crown Office decision. |
| The Morton family statement said it was “factually and legally incorrect” for the Crown Office to believe they would need to prove he knew he might faint in order to prosecute him for dangerous or careless driving. | The Morton family statement said it was “factually and legally incorrect” for the Crown Office to believe they would need to prove he knew he might faint in order to prosecute him for dangerous or careless driving. |
| They said they suspected the Crown Office’s “focus in the inquiry is on justifying their own decision not to prosecute rather than a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this tragedy”. | They said they suspected the Crown Office’s “focus in the inquiry is on justifying their own decision not to prosecute rather than a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this tragedy”. |
| The inquiry also heard on Wednesday from Dr John Leach, a consultant neurologist who saw Clarke on Christmas Eve – two days after the incident – to assess him to see if there was any past or current issue of epilepsy. | The inquiry also heard on Wednesday from Dr John Leach, a consultant neurologist who saw Clarke on Christmas Eve – two days after the incident – to assess him to see if there was any past or current issue of epilepsy. |
| He said Clarke “remembered little” after turning on to Queen Street on the day of the crash. “His next memory was of hearing the words ‘wake up’ and it seemed like it was in the distance, but it was someone speaking to him from the back of the cab [of the lorry],” Leach said. | He said Clarke “remembered little” after turning on to Queen Street on the day of the crash. “His next memory was of hearing the words ‘wake up’ and it seemed like it was in the distance, but it was someone speaking to him from the back of the cab [of the lorry],” Leach said. |
| He said that when he asked Clarke about his previous medical history, he told him about an incident in 2008 when he felt “shivery” and an ambulance was called, but had not lost consciousness and was not taken to hospital. | He said that when he asked Clarke about his previous medical history, he told him about an incident in 2008 when he felt “shivery” and an ambulance was called, but had not lost consciousness and was not taken to hospital. |
| Morton, 51, and Stephenie Tait, 29, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, were killed after the bin lorry went out of control last December. Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents, Jack Sweeney, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69, from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, also died after suffering multiple injuries when they were hit by the truck. | Morton, 51, and Stephenie Tait, 29, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, were killed after the bin lorry went out of control last December. Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents, Jack Sweeney, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69, from Dumbarton, West Dunbartonshire, also died after suffering multiple injuries when they were hit by the truck. |