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Glasgow bin lorry crash driver did not reveal medical history Glasgow bin lorry crash: Driver recruitment 'not adequate'
(about 1 hour later)
The driver of a bin lorry which crashed in Glasgow, killing six people, did not disclose his medical history on a form in 2011, an inquiry has heard. The inquiry into a bin lorry crash which killed six people in Glasgow has heard of "significant shortcomings" in the council recruitment processes.
Harry Clarke did not mention a history of dizziness or blackouts on the Bupa form, which was completed when he was promoted to driving heavier vehicles. Driver Harry Clarke, 58, was unconscious when the vehicle veered out of control on 22 December 2014.
The 58-year-old was unconscious when the bin lorry veered out of control and hit pedestrians on 22 December 2014. The inquiry has previously heard that Mr Clarke had a history of fainting and dizziness going back 40 years.
The inquiry is examining the lorry, its route and the driver's health. Glasgow City Council said he would not have been employed had if it had known about his background.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that Mr Clarke would not have been driving at the time of the crash if the council had known of his medical history. Mr Clarke was taken on by the council in January 2011 to drive a minibus transporting disabled schoolchildren. At the time of his recruitment he had been suspended by his previous employer First Bus over a dispute about his timekeeping while driving buses, but the council was not aware of this.
Glasgow City Council's HR manager Geraldine Ham was giving evidence on the ninth day of the fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the crash. On the ninth day of the fatal accident inquiry into the crash, Glasgow Sheriff Court also heard that Mr Clarke failed to disclose his medical history on a Bupa form for the council when he was promoted to driving heavier vehicles.
Absence record Dorothy Bain QC, representing the bereaved Morton family, questioned Geraldine Ham, a human resources manager at the council, over the authority's recruitment processes.
Questioned by Dorothy Bain QC, acting for the bereaved Morton family, Ms Bain said there was "real concern" over the recruitment of Mr Clarke to the council. 'Room for improvement'
The inquiry heard last week that Mr Clarke had suffered bouts of dizziness for 1976, fainted at work while a lorry driver in 1989 and suffered dizziness for months in 1994. Talking the witness through various employment documents, the lawyer put it to her: "At the stage that Mr Clarke was employed by the council to transport children with special needs, we can see significant shortcomings in the council process for recruitment."
He was suspended from First Bus over a dispute about his absence record at the time he joined Glasgow City Council in January 2011 to drive a minibus transporting disabled school children. Ms Ham said the local authority tried to ensure that the necessary employment processes were in place.
The court was told that Mr Clarke completed a second Bupa medical questionnaire in 2011 for his next council post, but that this did not disclose his medical history or absences at his previous employer. Ms Bain said the inquiry had seen that where Mr Clarke "doesn't tell the council the truth, the recruitment process was not adequate in order to prevent his employment". The witness agreed.
Ms Ham said Mr Clarke would have been suspended from driving and removed from duties had his medical history been known. The QC went on: "For that reason you would agree, I presume, that the recruitment process wasn't adequate?"
Ms Ham responded: "There's room for improvement, yes."
She also agreed that Mr Clarke would not have been given the job if the council had received full disclosure of his medical history.
And Ms Ham said he would have been suspended from driving and removed from duties had his medical history come to light.
The inquiry heard last week that Mr Clarke had suffered bouts of dizziness in 1976, fainted at work while a lorry driver in 1989 and suffered dizziness for months in 1994.
He is also reported to have fainted while at the wheel of a bus in 2010.
The Crown Office has already concluded that there will be no criminal prosecution over the crash, with senior lawyers deeming it a "tragic accident".The Crown Office has already concluded that there will be no criminal prosecution over the crash, with senior lawyers deeming it a "tragic accident".
In a statement on Friday, the prosecution service said Mr Clarke was unconscious when the bin lorry veered out of control in Glasgow city centre "and therefore not in control of his actions".In a statement on Friday, the prosecution service said Mr Clarke was unconscious when the bin lorry veered out of control in Glasgow city centre "and therefore not in control of his actions".
The Crown Office statement said Mr Clarke did not "have the necessary criminal state of mind required for a criminal prosecution".The Crown Office statement said Mr Clarke did not "have the necessary criminal state of mind required for a criminal prosecution".
It also said that all the relevant evidence was known to the Crown counsel at the time the decision to take no proceedings was made.It also said that all the relevant evidence was known to the Crown counsel at the time the decision to take no proceedings was made.
Erin McQuade, 18, her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and his 69-year-old wife Lorraine, all from Dumbarton, died in the incident in the city's Queen Street and George Square.Erin McQuade, 18, her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and his 69-year-old wife Lorraine, all from Dumbarton, died in the incident in the city's Queen Street and George Square.
Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, were also killed when the truck mounted the pavement before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel.Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow, and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, were also killed when the truck mounted the pavement before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel.
A further 15 people were injured.A further 15 people were injured.