The driver of the bin lorry which killed six Christmas shoppers is not a liar or a coward, but an “ordinary man, with ordinary failings”, it was claimed yesterday.
Harry Clarke fell unconscious while behind the wheel of the 26-tonne refuse truck which ploughed into pedestrians in Glasgow city centre.
During the inquiry several relatives of the victims walked out in disgust after the 58-year-old refused to answer dozens of questions about his medical history and a previous blackout in 2010.
He had been warned by Sheriff John Beckett that he was not obliged to say anything, other than confirm his name and address, because of the prospect of a private prosecution being launched.
However, Paul Reid, QC, claimed it was “lamentable” that his client’s character had come under attack.
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He said: “Mr Clarke is not the lying and deceitful man that has been suggested. He is a very ordinary man, who has the failings of ordinary men.”
Evidence has been heard that Mr Clarke blacked out while behind the wheel of a bus in 2010.
The inquiry has also heard suggestions that the driver failed, on numerous occasions, to disclose his long history of faints, dizziness and vertigo to doctors, his employers and the vehicle licensing authorities.
But Mr Reid claimed his client was a “poor historian” rather than a serial liar.
He added that his client wished to offer condolences, but no apology, to the grieving relatives, stating: “Mr Clarke recognises that there is nothing I can say on his behalf that will offer any meaningful comfort to the families of those who died, or those injured, during the awful events of December 22.”