M9 deaths probe: Families at Falkirk court hear fatal accident inquiry will be postponed for five months

Lamara Bell, 25, from Falkirk and John Yuill, 38, were returning from a camping trip when their Renault Clio plunged down an embankment on the M9 nearBannockburn on July 5, 2015.

A member of the public called police to report the crashed car but no action was taken until another member of the public noticed the car three days later, heard Ms Bell pleading for help, and called the police again.

When officers finally arrived, Mr Yuill was dead and Ms Bell was lying in the wreck with serious injuries including to her skull and brain. The mother of two developed

acute meningitis and died in hospital, from complications, four days later.

A probe, at Falkirk Sheriff Court, had been expected to start hearing evidence in April, but will not now do so until September – over eight years after the tragedy – following a request for more yet time by Police Scotland.

Murdo Macleod, representing Police Scotland, told a preliminary hearing earlier today "a significant disclosure" – a release of documents relating to the deaths – had been made by the Crown as recently as December 23 last year.

He said: "It is voluminous to say the least. There are almost 400 witness statements and now about 350 documents, and the Chief Constable is unlikely to be prepared for an inquiry lasting several weeks commencing in April.

"The chief constable is very keen to make progress and is acutely aware almost eight years have passed since this tragedy occurred."

He said more time was also needed because an April start would clash with the next phase of the public inquiry into the death of Sheku Bayoh, on 3 May 2015, after an

incident in the street in Kirkcaldy, Fife, also involving Police Scotland.He said: "The chief constable's involvement in that public inquiry is obviously a significant undertaking."

Sheriff James Williamson ordered the evidential stage of the FAI, which could last eight weeks, should start on September 18. Further procedural hearings were set for

April 28and August 4.

Sheriff Williamson said he was "particularly grateful" to the relatives of Mr Yuill and Miss Bell for their "understanding".

He said: "They've waited a long time for this inquiry and I appreciate they may feel frustrated at the way things are proceeding, but in fact postponing to a later date will mean the inquiry will proceed uninterrupted and much more efficiently."

Speaking after the court decision, John Yuill's father Gordon Yuill, 58, a retired music producer from Grangemouth, said he accepted the need for the delay, but thevictims' relatives needed answers.

He said: "We know the documentation is vast. Our solicitor only received it on Monday and it'll take him a long time to go through it. We want it over and done with, but we need to establish the facts."We're led to believe John wasn't killed instantly, as first thought. We know he was definitely alive for a period after the accident.”

Police Scotland was fined £100,000 in 2021 after admitting call-handling failures contributed to the death of Ms Bell, though not Mr Yuill.