Harry Clarke 'sorry' for Glasgow bin lorry 'accident'

Harry Clarke was unconscious at the wheel when the bin lorry went out of control, killing six people

The driver of a bin lorry which crashed and killed six people in Glasgow five years ago says he is sorry for the part he played.

Describing it as "an accident", Harry Clarke told the Mail on Sunday not a day went by when he did not think about it.

Fifteen people were also injured when the bin truck mounted the kerb at George Square just before Christmas.

The 62-year-old blacked out while behind the wheel on 22 December 2014.

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The official inquiry into the tragedy blamed him for not revealing his medical history, including an episode where he was believed to faint while working in a previous job as a bus driver.

However, prosecutors previously ruled Mr Clarke would not face criminal charges due to insufficient evidence. They said because he had been unconscious at the wheel of the bin lorry, he did not have the required "criminal intention".

Mr Clarke told the newspaper: "I am devastated at what happened. There's all these poor people that are not here and those who were injured.

The lorry mounted the kerb before coming to a stop at the Millennium Hotel

"It has been made out that I don't care about what happened. There's not a day goes by I don't think about it.

"I'm sorry for the part I played in 2014. It was an accident. If I thought for a minute it was all my fault I'd jump off a bridge."

Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents Jack Sweeney, 68, and Lorraine Sweeney, 69, from Dumbarton; Stephenie Tait, 29, and Jacqueline Morton, 51, both from Glasgow; and Gillian Ewing, 52, from Edinburgh, died in the crash when the Glasgow City Council truck veered out of control.

'It took 19 seconds'

It had travelled along the pavement in Queen Street before crashing into the side of the Millennium Hotel in George Square.

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

The inquiry heard evidence over five weeks at Glasgow Sheriff Court in July and August 2015.

Evidence was heard that it took just 19 seconds for the tragedy to unfold.

During the course of the incident, numerous members of the public saw Mr Clarke unconscious, slumped forward in the driver's seat.

The inquiry also heard he had a history of health issues dating back to the 1970s - including a previous blackout in 2010 when at the wheel of a stationary bus - but had not disclosed his medical background to his employers or the DVLA.