Legal aid has been granted to relatives seeking a private prosecution against Harry Clarke, the driver of the Glasgow bin lorry that killed six people after he fainted at the wheel.

Relatives of three of the victims of the Christmas 2014 crash, Erin McQuade and her grandparents Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, are seeking the prosecution against Clarke. The Crown Office refused to charge him over their deaths, despite a fatal accident inquiry finding that he had lied about his medical history.

The Scottish government’s justice secretary, Michael Matheson, said legal aid would also be granted to Clarke and to William Payne, who is facing a similar prosecution by relatives of his victims after he killed the students Mhairi Convy and Laura Stewart when he passed out at the wheel of his Range Rover in Glasgow city centre in 2010.



Matheson said: “Private prosecutions are, and should remain, exceptionally rare in Scotland.

“However, in light of the unique and special circumstances of this case, which raises fundamental questions that have not previously been tested in case law, Scottish ministers believe it is in the public interest that all parties are adequately represented.”

He added: “The issue of whether there are exceptional circumstances to justify a private prosecution is a matter for the high court alone and does not form part of this legal aid decision.”

In January, Scotland’s lord advocate refused to support the private prosecution against Clarke. The McQuade/Sweeney family, whose lawyers are taking the case for free, have now applied directly to the high court for permission to stage the case.

A fatal accident inquiry in the summer of 2015 heard that Clarke had a history of health issues including a previous blackout in 2010 at the wheel of a stationary bus, but he had repeatedly failed to disclose his medical background to his employers or the DVLA.