IT is now exactly three years since the terrible night in 2013 when a police helicopter fell out of the sky on to The Clutha pub in Glasgow, killing 10 people and injuring more than 30 others. The pub has since reopened and reclaimed its place as one of the city’s most beloved institutions, but what still has not happened after all this time is a fatal accident inquiry.
Quite rightly, the relatives of those who died are asking why it is taking so long. One of them, 70-year-old Ian O’Prey, whose son Mark was among those who died in the disaster, even fears he may not live long enough to see the inquiry. Thompsons, the law firm that is representing some of the victims and their families, also says their clients are confused and upset by the fact a date for the start of the inquiry has not been set.
The confusion and anger is understandable. In 2009, Lord Cullen carried out a review of the FAI system and all his recommendations were implemented, including the establishment of an FAI team to oversee and track progress in all cases in which an FAI is mandatory or is likely to be recommended.
But concerns about the time it takes to start FAIs have persisted. On average, inquiries in Scotland are taking up to three years to establish, even when criminal investigations are not active. And when criminal investigations are being conducted, FAIs can take up to six years to establish.
Everyone understands the complex details of a case can sometimes take time to sort out, but the Crown Office itself has acknowledged more could be done to reduce delays in FAIs. The Crown Office must also recognise the survivors and relatives of those who died may only be able to come to terms with what happened when they know a thorough investigation has been carried out. Instead, three years on from Clutha, we have only an unacceptable delay in starting the inquiry that serves to deepen existing concerns about the current FAI system.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here