Human trafficking charges against Scottish bus tycoon Dame Ann Gloag have been dropped, the Crown Office has said.

The 81-year-old Stagecoach co-founder was charged alongside three other people by Police Scotland last year.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal (COPFS) said it would take no further proceedings against any of the accused, unless further evidence becomes available.

Dame Ann always denied the charges and said the “malicious allegations” have been a devastating threat to her legacy.

The allegations were understood to be related to people brought to Scotland as part of Dame Ann’s charity work with the Gloag Foundation.

A spokesperson for COPFS said: “The procurator fiscal received a report relating to two females then aged 81 and 48 and two males then aged 73 and 54, and incidents alleged to have occurred between 2007 and 2022.

“After careful consideration of the facts and circumstances of the case, including the available admissible evidence, independent Crown Counsel instructed that there should be no proceedings taken at this time.

“The Crown reserves the right to proceed in the future should further evidence become available, and it is in the public interest to do so.”

Dame Ann’s husband David McCleary and two other members of their family were also charged.

A spokesperson for Dame Ann said she welcomed the decision.

They said: “The threat that these malicious allegations have posed to Dame Ann’s legacy has been devastating and acute.

“The resulting waste of public funds and police time is deeply concerning and raises serious questions.

“Dame Ann looks forward to moving forward with her life and will take time to reflect on the future focus of her charitable giving.”

A source close to Dame Ann previously told the BBC that the family were “victims of collusion” and had endured “a Kafkaesque nightmare for the last two years.”

Dame Ann co-founded the Stagecoach bus company in 1980, with her brother Sir Brian Souter, and was made a dame for her business and charity work.

The Perth-based firm grew to become the UK’s biggest bus and coach operator, and is now managed by DWS Infrastructure.

When Dame Ann retired from the company in 2019, she was Scotland’s richest woman.

Dame Ann also founded the Gloag Foundation, a charitable trust which works to support projects that “prevent or relieve poverty and encourage the advancement of education, health and religion in the UK and overseas”, according to its website.