SCOTLAND'S Lord Advocate has refused the request for a private prosecution from the families of the victim's of Glasgow's bin lorry crash.

He has also said there will be no private prosecution in the Glasgow Hanover Street crash of 2010 that killed Mhairi Convy, 18, and Laura Stewart, 20.

A spokesman for the Crown Office said: "The Lord Advocate has declined to grant concurrence to the bill for criminal letters seeking a private prosecution of the driver of the bin lorry involved in the George Square fatalities on December 22, 2014.

"The original decision not to take criminal proceedings was made on the basis that there was insufficient evidence in law to prove that a crime had been committed and that position remains unchanged."

The spokesman said of the North Hanover Street crash: "The Lord Advocate has declined to grant concurrence to the bill for criminal letters seeking a private prosecution of the driver of vehicle involved in the North Hanover Street fatalities on December 17, 2010.

"The original decision not to take criminal proceedings was made on the basis that there was insufficient evidence in law to prove that a crime had been committed and that position remains unchanged.

Earlier this week the Evening Times told how solicitors representing the relatives of Erin McQuade, 18, and her grandparents Jack and Lorraine Sweeney, had approached the Scottish Government for support funding any private prosecution.

Lawyers for the family of victims Jack and Lorraine Sweeney and their granddaughter, Erin McQuade, delivered a Bill for Criminal Letters to the Crown Office last week seeking “concurrence” for the rare move.

Lord Advocate Frank Mulholland has declined to support the prosecution but it can still continue and is now likely to be ruled on by High Court judges without his approval.

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The Lord Advocate has declined to grant concurrence to the Bill for Criminal Letters seeking a private prosecution of the driver of the bin lorry involved in the George Square fatalities on December 22 2014.

“The original decision not to take criminal proceedings was made on the basis that there was insufficient evidence in law to prove that a crime had been committed and that position remains unchanged.”

Six people died when the vehicle went out of control in Queen Street in December 2014.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) held last year heard that Mr Clarke lost consciousness at the wheel and that he had a history of health issues - 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.

The Crown Office has consistently said there is insufficient evidence in law to raise criminal proceedings against Mr Clarke.