Hearing on bin lorry crash driver private prosecution bid begins

A court hearing on a bid to bring a private prosecution against Glasgow bin lorry crash driver Harry Clarke has begun.

Bin lorry
Published 13th Sep 2016

A court hearing on a bid to bring a private prosecution against Glasgow bin lorry crash driver Harry Clarke has begun.

Mr Clarke, 59, was behind the wheel of the bin lorry when it went out of control in Queen Street on December 22 2014, killing six people.

Relatives of crash victims Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, aged 68 and 69, and their granddaughter Erin McQuade, 18, are pursuing the court bid.

Stephenie Tait, 29, Jacqueline Morton, 51, and Gillian Ewing, 52, also died in the incident.

At the two-day hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, the three judges are also considering a similar application to prosecute William Payne, lodged by the families of students Mhairi Convy, 18, and Laura Stewart, 20, who were knocked down and killed in Glasgow in 2010.

Details of the hearing cannot be reported for legal reasons.

It is being held before the second-highest judge in Scotland, the Lord Justice Clerk Lady Dorian as well as Lord Menzies and Lord Drummond Young.

In each case, the Crown Office decided not to prosecute the drivers involved.

A number of relatives were present in court.

The hearing was adjourned until Thursday.