Council loses £6.5m claim over bin lorry crash

A council has failed in a bid to recover £6.5 million of damages paid out over a fatal bin lorry crash from the driver’s former employer over a job reference it claimed had been provided.

Harry Clarke collapsed at the wheel of the bin lorry in December 2014. Six people were killed when the vehicle crashed into pedestrians in Queen Street in the city centre.

In a opinion issued by the Court of Session yesterday, Lord Ericht ruled that First Bus hadn’t provided a reference about Mr Clarke and rejected Glasgow City Council's case.

The judge said: “As I have found on the facts that the defender did not provide a reference to the pursuer for Mr Clarke, the pursuer’s case fails.”