FAI to be held into Glasgow bin lorry tragedy but no prosecutions to be made

Six people died and another 10 were injured when the driver of the lorry fell unconscious and the vehicle crashed into pedestrians on Queen Street in the city centre on 22 December.

A police report on the investigation was received by the Crown Office on 29 January.

After consideration by Crown counsel – the Crown Office’s most senior counsel – they concluded that despite its catastrophic consequences there was no evidence to suggest that the driver’s conduct at the time amounted to a breach of the criminal law.

They also said there is no evidence to support a prosecution of Glasgow City Council in respect of any health and safety concerns breaches in health and safety law.

Crown Counsel have, however, decided that an FAI should be held into the causes of the tragedy to ensure that there can be a full public hearing of the facts of the case.

The Crown Office will petition the court within two weeks of the decision to hold an FAI to ensure that the inquiry is held as soon as possible.

An FAI is held into cases where a death or deaths were sudden, suspicious, or unexplained or occurred in circumstances such as to give rise to serious public concern and where it appears to the lord advocate to be appropriate that an Inquiry should be held into the circumstances.

The specialist Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit (SFIU) within the Crown Office has been responsible for overseeing the investigation into the deaths which occurred as a result of the incident.

David Green, head of SFIU, will lead the preparation for the FAI and will liaise with the families of those involved to keep them fully informed about the process in the run up to or during the FAI.