Bin lorry crash sheriff withdraws from inquiry

Six people were killed and 10 others injured when the council bin lorry crashed in the centre of Glasgow just three days before Christmas

The sheriff overseeing the inquiry into the Glasgow bin lorry crash which killed six people has withdrawn after realising he knew one of the victims.

Sheriff Principal Craig Scott will be replaced by John Beckett QC.

The Judiciary of Scotland said Sheriff Scott had "become aware that he was acquainted with one of the deceased and is known to the deceased's family".

Six people died when the bin lorry crashed into pedestrians in Glasgow city centre on 22 December last year.

A statement from the the Judiciary of Scotland said the link between the sheriff and one of the victims was not initially clear because of the way the victim was named in the original court application.

(Clockwise from top left) Jack Sweeney, Lorraine Sweeney, Erin McQuade, Jacqueline Morton, Stephenie Tait and Gillian Ewing were killed in the crash

It added: "In the circumstances, Sheriff Principal Scott has taken the immediate decision to recuse himself from the inquiry and has appointed Sheriff John Beckett QC to replace him."

Sheriff Principal Scott had presided over two hearings ahead of the beginning of the inquiry on July 22.

The next preliminary hearing will go ahead on 18 June at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Scotland's second most senior law officer, Solicitor General Lesley Thomson QC, will lead the inquiry.

It will look at the council driver's medical background and his fitness to hold a licence.

It will also consider the technical aspects of the vehicle itself and whether it was appropriate for it to take the route it did.

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.