World Rugby wants more information from the Rugby Football Union about Northampton's "apparent non-compliance" with concussion protocols relating to George North's latest head injury.

The Northampton Saints wing should not have returned to the field of play after a mid-air tackle on 3 December, an RFU concussion review panel said.
But the panel determined Saints will face no sanctions over the incident.
The Saints medical team have accepted that North may have lost consciousness.
The 24-year-old Wales international previously suffered four head blows in five months between November 2014 and March 2015, leading to a spell on the sidelines that lasted from 27 March until 29 August.
The panel's 17-page report into his latest injury, released on Wednesday, stated that the head injury assessment (HIA) protocol was followed correctly.
But the game's governing body says that assessment should not have been undertaken and that the Wales international should have been "immediately and permanently removed" because of "a suspected loss of consciousness" involving a "high-risk player based on medical history".
It acknowledged "a risk of human error" but said it was "disappointed" at decisions taken that led to North remaining on the field of play.
Speaking after Friday's win over Sale, Saints boss Jim Mallinder said he was aware of World Rugby's statement but it was one for the RFU to consider.
On North's fitness, Mallinder added: "George is training with the squad. He is mentally fit and physically fit and, when everyone is happy, he will return to playing, which he is looking forward to."
The Concussion Management Review Group, which spent two weeks analysing the case, also concluded that North should not have returned to the field.
But it opted not to recommend any punishment - saying Northampton did not fail any protocols or ignore North's best interests.
North appeared to lie motionless after the incident, but told medics he had stayed still because he was "concerned about his neck".
The lack of any sanction against Northampton has prompted severe criticism.
Dr Barry O'Driscoll, a former World Rugby medical adviser, suggested rugby union's authorities are "experimenting on players' brains" by failing to address concussion.
The Rugby Players' Association (RPA) said North's return to the field was a "significant failing", and believes sanctions would have sent a "clear message" about the "gravity of concussion management".
Former Scotland international John Beattie said he was worried for the future of young players, adding: "We can't have a game where the end product is a brain-damaged super-human who's made a bit of money."
Peter McCabe, chief executive of brain injury association Headway, said "serious questions have to be asked" of the existing protocols, adding: "This incident sends out a confusing message around the issue of concussion, particularly for children who follow the example of famous players and favourite clubs."
Sports injury lawyer Ian Christian said the panel's decision was "hugely disappointing", and a missed opportunity for rugby authorities to "make a statement".


Six London 2012 swimming gold medallists have been included on the 31-strong Great Britain team for the Rio Paralympics.

Ellie Simmonds, Ollie Hynd, Jon Fox, Jessica-Jane Applegate, Josef Craig and Bethany Firth, who won her gold while representing Ireland, are all included.
Scotland's Abby Kane, 12, is the youngest on the team while Sascha Kindred, 38, makes it to a sixth Games.
The team features 20 swimmers who have previous Games experience.
Kindred, who has won six Paralympic gold medals since making his debut in Atlanta in 1996, missed the qualifying time at the recent British trials in Glasgow but was selected having achieved a time within 2% of the required standard.
Stephen Clegg, a younger brother of Paralympic sprinter Libby Clegg, and rising stars Lewis White, who is coached by Adam Peaty's coach Mel Marshall in Derby, and Jonathan Booth are also selected under the same criteria.
Four-time world champion Tully Kearney, who missed the trials through injury, has also been chosen.
Great Britain won 39 medals in the pool at London 2012, seven of them gold, and British Para-Swimming National Performance Director Chris Furber wants more for his squad this time around.
"We set the qualifying standards high because we wanted a quality team in Rio," he told BBC Sport after the trials.
GB team: Jonathan Booth, Stephen Clegg, Josef Craig, James Crisp, Ryan Crouch, Jon Fox, Tom Hamer, Ollie Hynd, Mikey Jones, Sascha Kindred, Aaron Moores, Andrew Mullen, Scott Quin, Lewis White, Matt Wylie.
Jessica-Jane Applegate, Claire Cashmore, Bethany Firth, Charlotte Henshaw, Abby Kane, Tully Kearney, Harriet Lee, Amy Marren, Stephanie Millward, Rebecca Redfern, Ellie Robinson, Susie Rodgers, Hannah Russell, Ellie Simmonds, Stephanie Slater, Alice Tai.


G4S has suspended nine members of staff from an immigration removal centre near Gatwick Airport, following a BBC Panorama undercover investigation.

The programme says it has covert footage recorded at Brook House showing officers "mocking, abusing and assaulting" people being held there.
It says it has seen "widespread self-harm and attempted suicides" in the centre, and that drug use is "rife".
G4S said it is aware of the claims and "immediately" began an investigation.
The security firm said it had not been provided with recorded evidence, but added: "There is no place for the type of conduct described."
Those suspended were one female nurse, six detention custody officers, and two managers, who were all male.
Several other members of staff have also been placed on restrictive duties, the BBC understands.
The programme, to be aired on Monday, uses footage it says was recorded by former custody officer Callum Tulley at the centre, which holds detainees facing deportation from the UK.
Panorama says it has seen "chaos, incompetence and abuse" at the centre, which it describes as a "toxic mix".
It claims detainees who are failed asylum seekers can share rooms with foreign national criminals who have finished prison sentences.
These criminals, who are awaiting deportation, make up about half of the people in Brook House.
Because of the amount of time people are being held for, "there is a huge amount of frustration being built up," BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said.
He added the allegations raised "serious questions" about the company's capability to manage places like this in the future.
G4S said the staff suspensions were a "precaution" but it reported the allegations to "the relevant authorities".
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's World at One, the managing director for G4S's custodial and detention services in the UK said the alleged behaviour was "abnormal".
Jerry Petherick told the programme: "It's despicable, it's disgraceful. It's my job to drive the expected behaviours... [and] I take personal accountability and responsibility for doing that."
He said the detainees were "all vitally important individuals" and that he wished he had known about the allegations sooner.
Mr Petherick confirmed G4S would continue with its bid for the next contract for Brook House.
But the chairwoman of the all party parliamentary group on refugees said the contract "should be suspended and reviewed".
Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire told World at One: "These are people who are not criminals, they are being detained. And the use of detention, unfortunately, over the last few years has, by the Home Office, become a port of first resort rather than last resort as it is supposed to be."
A Home Office spokesman said: "We condemn any actions that put the safety or dignity of immigration removal centre detainees at risk.
"We are clear that all detainees should be treated with dignity and respect and we expect G4S to carry out a thorough investigation into these allegations and that all appropriate action be taken."
G4S runs Brook House on behalf of the Home Office as well as working in a number of sectors, including technology, care and justice services, and cash transportation.
The firm has 585,000 employees across 100 countries worldwide but has also attracted controversies and accusations of mismanagement.
In 2014, it paid Â£109m for overcharging the Ministry of Justice for tagging offenders, while it also failed to employ enough security for the London 2012 Olympics.
Last year, criminal proceedings were launched against eight G4S staff for their treatment of young people at the Medway Secure Training Centre.
In 2010 - a year after opening - Brook House was branded "fundamentally unsafe". Three years later inspectors said they saw sustained improvement.
The most recent report from HM Chief Inspector of Prisons, released in March this year, said some detainees had been held for excessive periods due to "unreasonable delays in immigration decision making".
It described residential units as "very closely resembling" prisons, saying problems were "exacerbated by poor ventilation and unsatisfactory sanitary facilities".
A review of improvements made at the centre will begin on Monday.
Brook House is currently home to 508 men - with the highest numbers coming from Pakistan, Albania, Nigeria, Afghanistan and India.
According to the Home Office, the majority of those held are failed asylum seekers or illegal immigrants waiting to be deported from the UK on organised charter flights.
Other detainees include foreign national offenders awaiting transfers and those who are considered too challenging to manage in less secure centres.
Brook House is one of 11 detention removal centres in England, which together took in 28,908 people last year - including 71 children.
During the year, 28,661 people left detention - of which 64% were held for less than 29 days, 18% for between 29 days and 2 months, and 11% for between two and four months.
Of the 1,848 (6%) remaining, 179 had been in detention for between one and two years, and 29 for two years or longer.
Watch Panorama - Undercover: Britain's Immigration Secrets - on Monday 4 September at 21:00 BST on BBC One and afterwards on BBC iPlayer.


St Helens full-back Ben Barba says his 12-game suspension from rugby league after a positive drugs test has helped him appreciate his career.

Barba left the code and Cronulla to join French rugby union side Toulon for 2017 on the back of the ban, but ended his stint in May when he joined Saints.
Having seen out the ban, Barba, 28, is ready for Friday's debut against Wigan.
"What I've taken from it is how easy things can be taken away from you," Barba told the BBC Super League Show.
"It's been quite a ride. I'm now on the other side of the world and playing in a different competition, but I'm grateful to have the people around me and the family that I do."
The disappointment of Barba's ban from rugby league came on the back of a historic National Rugby League premiership win for club side Cronulla - their first title in 49 years.
Barba scored 16 tries in 27 games for the triumphant Sharks, including one in the Grand Final against Melbourne Storm.
"I've gone from playing footy every week, to having to sit out for such a long time," Barba continued.
"I've obviously put myself in that position with the drug testing but all I can do now is work hard and try to put some good performances on the field."
Saints head coach Justin Holbrook took the decision to add Barba to his squad, having worked with him before at Canterbury Bulldogs.
Holbrook said he was delighted to sign a player who less than 12 months ago was at the top of his game in the elite NRL.
"Everyone knows he can score tries, but it's the way he reads the game," he added.
"We don't have too many naturally talented players who have that vision in our game in the world, he's got that and experience, good at organising, he brings a lot of things."
Friday's derby against Wigan is a crucial fixture for both teams in the race for a semi-final spot and the opportunity for Barba to go back-to-back in terms of premierships.
Only points difference in favour of Saints separates them and Wigan on the ladder, with Wakefield above them in fourth currently in possession of a play-off spot.
"I think we've got the side to do it," Barba continued.
"We've got experienced guys and young guys who are playing unreal at the moment.
"Hopefully we've learned over the last couple of weeks and put our best foot forward the next couple."


Greece's left-wing Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is leading the offensive to persuade the nation's creditors to end austerity and forgive part of its debt.

Mr Varoufakis, 53, is not only a well-respected political economist, but a charismatic man and natural charmer. A few weeks after his appointment, he has become something of a global celebrity.
That is hardly surprising for Greeks - after all, Mr Varoufakis got more votes than any other candidate in the 25 January general election that swept the leftist Syriza party into power.
In the wake of victory he immediately embarked on a European tour that took him to London, Paris, Rome and Berlin.
The sight of a shaven-headed, athletic minister refusing to tuck his shirt into his trousers or wear a tie - even while visiting 11 Downing Street - fascinated business reporters, fashion editors and gossip columnists.
Even the German media - among Greece's sternest critics - seemed impressed. ZDF television anchor Marietta Slomka said "he is someone you could imagine starring in a film like Die Hard 6", and conservative daily Die Welt ran the headline "What makes Yanis Varoufakis a sex icon".
In his home country, a new word was coined - "Varoufitses" - to describe women who idolise Mr Varoufakis.
At the time of writing, Mr Varoufakis had 128,000 Twitter followers, a number of devoted fan pages on Facebook, and he has inspired a video game "Syrizaman Vs Troika".
His eurozone colleagues may not find him quite so charming. In his first meeting with them on 11 February he refused to approve a common statement by the Eurogroup that implied Athens would seek an extension of its bailout.
"Simple logic dictates that if you cannot even conceive the possibility of leaving a negotiation, then it is preferable never to enter one," he wrote in a blog entry back in May 2010.
Varoufakis soundbites
Mr Varoufakis showed signs of defiance and non-conformism from a very early age. That includes deliberately misspelling his name Yanis, writing it with only one "n" since elementary school. "I had an aesthetic problem with the double "n"," he said. "So I decided to write my name with one. My teacher gave me a bad grade, which made me very angry and I've kept writing my name with one "n" ever since."
Mr Varoufakis was born on 24 March 1961 in Athens. He is a graduate of the Moraitis private school, which has nurtured many members of Greece's political and economic elite.
His father, 89-year-old Giorgos Varoufakis, is chairman of Halyvourgiki, a Greek industrial giant.
This background of relative privilege did not prevent Mr Varoufakis from becoming a libertarian Marxist, who has said that "Karl Marx was responsible for framing my perspective of the world we live in, from my childhood to this day".
After receiving his doctorate from the University of Essex he spent a couple of years teaching there and at the University of East Anglia. But Margaret Thatcher's third election victory in 1987 proved too much to bear for Mr Varoufakis, who started to "plan his escape" from Britain.
His escape destination was not Greece, but Australia, where he taught economics at the University of Sydney.
He finally returned to Athens in 2000, a decision he attributed to a combination of nostalgia and, again, an "abhorrence of the conservative turn of the land Down Under".
In 2005 his ex-wife and young daughter Xenia moved permanently to Australia, leaving Mr Varoufakis "in a state of shock". Shortly after, he met his second wife Danae Stratou, who he says saved him from "oblivion" and he has been with her every step of the way since.
Mr Varoufakis burst onto the Greek political scene in 2010, when Athens pleaded for a bailout from its European partners and the IMF.
Here was a rare mainstream economist condemning the bailout, warning of impending destruction and urging the government to opt for a default. Most other economists, and most Greek mainstream media, followed the official line: Greece would soon be back to growth and the markets.
Mr Varoufakis was happy to play the role of Cassandra, the Trojan princess of Greek mythology with the gift of prophecy, cursed by Apollo to be disbelieved.
"We can stand the pain. The problem is that the troika is suggesting a 'therapy' which, as far as I know, is not just painful but worse than the 'disease'," he wrote in an early blog post.
"In ten years everyone, not just us, but the entire Europe, will say this 'therapy' was a Big Mistake."
His blog entries, articles and numerous interviews popularised his views. He had a gift of explaining arcane economic terms in layman's language.
In 2012 Mr Varoufakis left Greece for the United States to teach at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, at the University of Texas at Austin. Mr Varoufakis has said his decision was partly dictated by death threats received for talking about the scandals of Greek banks, and partly by financial concerns, as he was on a modest university salary in Greece.
In Texas, he won the hearts of the faculty and students alike.
"Yanis is where he is now because he got it right from the start," says close friend and fellow University of Texas professor James Galbraith, who is now advising Greece in its last-ditch talks with creditors.
Prof Galbraith describes him as both a brilliant academic and popular teacher at Austin.
"He is an excellent, published academic, with years of research and innovative ideas."
He adds that the last star economist he can remember was his own father, celebrated Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith.
Mr Varoufakis had said he would "never, never, never" leave academia for politics. So what made him change his mind?
People close to him told the BBC he felt he had a "moral responsibility"  to accept the invitation of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
They also describe him as a workaholic and ideologue, convinced of the failure of austerity politics. He is said to sleep very few hours at night.
Don't expect him to do an about-face under pressure from lenders, they warn, saying he would sooner leave politics than betray his beliefs.
Some critics say he has the luxury of being defiant, having joint Australian-Greek citizenship and the chance to return to academia whenever he likes.
People who know Mr Varoufakis says that is inaccurate and unfair, because now his own future is tied to that of the Greek people he serves.


Six Scots are competing in Belgrade, Serbia for the European Indoor Athletics Championships starting on Friday, and there are high hopes for some.

Eilidh Doyle won last month's British indoor title over 400m and knows what it take to succeed on the European stage, having won gold in the 4x400m relay and silver in the 400m in Gothenburg four years ago.
Much has changed for the 30-year-old since she last competed at the European Indoor Championships. She's now an Olympic bronze medallist for one.
Having decided against competing in Prague in 2015, Doyle opted to include Belgrade in her schedule this year, and she will again compete in both events.
"Indoors is a bit of a no-no for me, I don't really do it very often," Doyle told BBC Scotland.  "My last full indoor season was in 2013, but we kind of thought this year that we'd kick off the season early, so it's gone well.
"When I did it in 2013, it paid off pretty well. I had a good indoor season but a really good outdoor season as well, it kind of carried through. And that's what we're sort of thinking this year; get a good indoor but really use it for the outdoor which is the main thing."
While Doyle is looking at the bigger picture, with the World Championships in London this summer, she is keen to add to her indoor medal haul.
"Championships are always about trying to get a medal; you want to bring something home," she said. "But I think for me because it is indoors and it is 400m, not my preferred event over the hurdles, it's more of a step to the outdoor season.
"Obviously I want to come here and contend and win a medal but if I run a great time and don't make the podium, I'm not going to be too disheartened. Ultimately I just want to have a great performance, but yes it would be great to bring a medal home."
While the focus is more about performance for Doyle, one of her fellow Scots on the GB team is desperate to win her first senior major medal.
Laura Muir is in the form of her life - having already broken three indoor records this season. Her latest impressive feat came two weeks ago in Birmingham as she set a new British mark in the 1,000m - breaking Kelly Holmes' record from 2004.
Already in 2017 she'd claimed the European 3,000m and British 5,000m indoor records.
Doyle, who like Muir hails from Perthshire, continues to be impressed by her fellow Scot.
"You look at the likes of Laura, she is known throughout Europe and worldwide because of how fast she's ran.
"I think it's great to have Scottish athletes on the map. It's brilliant for the sport and I think it's definitely come from Glasgow 2014.
"There's definitely been a big push in Scottish athletics, there's so many of us that are making teams, winning the British Championships, breaking British records, European records and it's just really, really encouraging."
While Muir targets medals in both the 1500m and 3,000m in Belgrade, she won't be short of Scottish company in either event.
Eilish McColgan is also competing at both distances, while Steph Twell goes in the 3,000m.
Allan Smith (high jump) and Guy Learmonth (800m) make up the Scottish contingent in a 32-strong GB team.
For Learmonth, it's a chance to show he's back at the top of his game after being crowned British 800m indoor champion last month.


The annual Scottish Poppy Appeal has been launched to raise money for veterans and their families.

Poppyscotland, the charity behind the appeal, give "life-changing" support to members of the armed forces community in Scotland.
The appeal raises more than Â£2m every year to provide advice and specialist support to veterans.
The Poppyscotland appeal for 2015 has a theme of "donate like you mean it".
Colin Flinn, head of fundraising at Poppyscotland, said he wanted to raise money to make sure that "those in the Armed Forces community are not disadvantaged and can live full lives".
He said: "The poppy means different things to different people so this year we're asking people to tell us what the poppy means to them and then, importantly, donate like they mean it.
"We can't achieve this without the public so we are urging them to get behind us and support the appeal once again."
This year's appeal was launched by Sanjeev Kohli, the actor best known for his role as Navid in the sitcom Still Game, at Glasgow Queen Street station.
Mr Kohli shared what the poppy means to him in a selfie booth - one of six booths coming to Scottish train stations over six days.
He said: "I'm proud to be launching the 2015 Scottish Poppy Appeal and my poppy means thank you. Thank you to the brave servicemen and women who lay their lives on the line so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today, and thank you to Poppyscotland who look after those who've looked after us.
"I hope the public will join me in sharing what the poppy means to them and then donate like they mean it so that Poppyscotland can carry on its life-changing work."
The annual Remembrance Sunday service will be held on 8 November at 11:00.
The service, at St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh, will be attended by senior politicians and members of the military.
They will be invited to lay wreaths at the Stone of Remembrance.


An MEP who dishonestly claimed almost £500,000 in expenses has been warned he faces a prison sentence.

Peter Skinner, 56, who was Labour MEP for the South East from 1999 to 2014, was found guilty of three charges after a trial at Southwark Crown Court.
Jurors heard he claimed thousands of pounds for support staff over a five-year period which actually funded hotel stays, restaurants and jewellery.
Skinner, of Snodland in Kent, will be sentenced on 29 April.
The politician also made fraudulent payments of £10,000 a month to his wife from December 2007 until July 2009, which entitled him to claim secretarial or parliamentary assistance allowance.
Skinner, who stood down as an MEP in 2014, also created a fake letter claiming his father was working for him, to justify his payments of £5,000 every three months, his trial heard.
He claimed he had been confused over the rules and blamed a lack of information given to him by the European Parliament.
Skinner was found guilty of one count of making a false instrument, one count of fraud and one count of false accounting between 2004 and 2009.
He was cleared of one count of making a false instrument in relation to a form submitted to the European Parliament in 2006.


Wales manager Chris Coleman appeared to reveal his Euro 2016 team selection by accident this morning - but was having a joke at photographers' expense.

Media playback is not supported on this device
After newspapers carried a picture of England assistant manager Ray Lewington yesterday carrying a team sheet, Coleman did the same on Wednesday.
But closer inspection revealed his team was a spoof and included legends Pele, Maradona and Bobby Moore.
Wales play Slovakia on Saturday before facing England on 16 June.


The sculptor that erected Wall Street's Charging Bull statue is complaining about New York City's decision to allow a nearby statue to remain in place.

Italian-born sculptor Arturo Di Modica says the Fearless Girl statue, which was placed nearby during International Women's Day, is a copyright violation.
His lawyers argue that the new sculpture's presence changes the artistic meaning of his famous statue.
Mr Di Modica's statute was installed in 1987, without any city permits.
The 7,000 pound (3,175 kg) structure was placed on a New York City street after a financial collapse in the middle of the night, but was eventually moved to the Financial District, steps away from Wall Street, after the public called for the statue to be allowed to stay.
Mr Di Modica objects to Mayor Bill de Blasio's decision to allow the Fearless Girl statue to remain in place opposite of the Bull for one year, after a public clamouring for the statue to become permanent.
His lawyers argue that proper procedure was not followed by city officials when choosing to grant the permit.
Mr Di Modica has argued that the girl is not a work of art, but rather an "advertising trick" since it was sponsored by investment firm State Street Global Advisers, and erected by advertising firm McCann.
The work was created to draw attention to women in leadership and the lack of women in Wall Street boardrooms.
"Everybody loves the bull," Mr Di Modica told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, adding that the renewed attention to his original work is "negative".
"The girl is like - 'I am here, what are you gonna do?'", he told reporters, his voice breaking at times.
His lawyers are requesting unspecified damages, due to a "copyright violation".
Mayor de Blasio responded on Twitter on Wednesday, writing: "Men who don't like women taking up space are exactly why we need the Fearless Girl."


The inquiry into the Glasgow bin lorry crash has heard the driver will not face criminal prosecution in Scotland - but could be tried in England or Wales.

The inquiry into the crash, which killed six people, has heard Harry Clarke, 58, lied about a 2010 blackout in health assessment forms.
Scotland's Crown Office said its decision not to prosecute still stood.
The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) could prosecute Mr Clarke for non-declaration on his LGV form.
The chief medical adviser to the DVLA, Dr Wyn Parry, told the fatal accident inquiry (FAI) this was something which was under consideration, but that no decision had been made.
He said it was up to the DVLA to decide if this was an appropriate course of action.
The development emerged after the Crown Office had clarified its decision not to prosecute Mr Clarke.
The Crown Office said in February that there would be no criminal charges against Mr Clarke or his employers over the crash, which it viewed as a tragic accident.
The inquiry has since heard that while employed by First Bus, Mr Clarke blacked out at the wheel of a bus in 2010.
It has also heard that he subsequently lied about the circumstances of this incident when applying to join Glasgow City Council and in health assessments.
The family of victim Jacqueline Morton called at the weekend for Mr Clarke to be prosecuted.
Newspapers have claimed a private prosecution is now being considered.
On Wednesday, Solicitor general Lesley Thomson, who is leading the FAI, said that the commitment made by the Crown in February that no-one would face criminal charges still stood.
She said this covered all aspects of Mr Clarke's driving and any false information he had given to doctors, the DVLA and Glasgow City Council about his medical history.
Sheriff John Beckett, who is hearing the FAI, has now asked lawyers acting for the relatives if they can indicate whether they intend to bring a private prosecution against Mr Clarke.
The sheriff said that, while a private prosecution would be very rare, he wanted to be able to warn Mr Clarke before he answers questions as a witness at the inquiry.
If there is a chance of prosecution, the witness could potentially not answer questions put to him as any evidence he gives could be used against him at a future trial.
Sheriff Beckett said: "Normally, if a person is clearly told by the Crown that he will not face criminal proceedings, then he will not face criminal proceedings.
"However, there have been rare instances where private individuals have been allowed to bring a private prosecution in the High Court.
"That is a very rare occurrence, and there are significant procedural obstacles to be overcome before it can occur, so that normally a court might be entitled to assume that if the Crown is committed to a position whereby it cannot prosecute there will be no criminal prosecution."
The sheriff said he did not expect an "immediate answer" on the matter.
The FAI at Glasgow Sheriff Court has been looking at the circumstances which led to the bin lorry veering out of control on Queen Street on 22 December last year.
The vehicle killed six people and injured 15 others before crashing into the Millennium Hotel in George Square.
The inquiry continues.


North Korea says it will restart all facilities at its main Yongbyon nuclear complex, including a reactor mothballed in 2007.

In a statement, it said the move would bolster North Korea's nuclear forces "in quality and quantity".
The move is the latest in a series of measures by Pyongyang in the wake of its third nuclear test in February.
It has been angered by the resultant UN sanctions and joint US-South Korea annual military drills.
In recent weeks the communist state has issued a series of threats against both South Korean and US targets, to which the US has responded with high-profile movements of advanced aircraft and warships around the Korean peninsula.
By Jonathan MarcusBBC Diplomatic Correspondent
North Korea's announcement effectively undoes international efforts to constrain its nuclear  programme. But restarting the reactor at Yongbyon will take time. Cooling systems have to be re-installed, the reactor fuelled and so on. It could be six months to a year before the reactor is up and running. This will open up a new source of plutonium for North Korea's nuclear weapons programme.
Pyongyang's references to its highly-enriched uranium activities are puzzling experts and are less clear. This provides an alternative basis for a nuclear weapon. But nobody knows how many secret enrichment plants North Korea may have or the level to which they may already be enriching nuclear material.
So in many ways its back to square one in terms of nuclear diplomacy. But six years have passed since 2007 and in the intervening period North Korea's missile capabilities - the means by which it might eventually seek to deliver a nuclear warhead - have improved significantly.
A South Korean foreign ministry spokesman said that if true, the North Korean move would be "highly regrettable".
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei called for restraint from all sides to resolve the "complex and sensitive" situation.
The reactor at Yongbyon - which was the source for plutonium for North Korea's nuclear weapons programme - was closed in July 2007 as part of a disarmament-for-aid deal.
The cooling tower at the facility was later destroyed, but then the disarmament deal stalled.
Part of the reason the agreement fell apart was because the US did not believe Pyongyang was fully disclosing all of its nuclear facilities - a suspicion later bolstered when North Korea unveiled a uranium enrichment facility at Yongbyon to US scientist Siegfried Hecker in 2010.
While it appeared to be for electricity generation purposes, Mr Hecker said the facility could be readily converted to produce highly-enriched uranium for bombs.
The statement, carried by KCNA news agency, was attributed to a spokesman for the General Department of Atomic Energy.
The department had decided "to adjust and alter the uses of the existing nuclear facilities" including "readjusting and restarting all the nuclear facilities in Nyongbyon [Yongbyon] including uranium enrichment plant and 5MW graphite moderated reactor".
The work would be put into practice without delay, the statement said. It also attributed the move to the need to generate more electricity.
In a November 2010 report following his visit to Yongbyon, Siegfried Hecker said based on what he saw he believed North Korea could "resume all plutonium operations within approximately six months" at Yongbyon if so inclined.
The reactor can produce spent fuel rods that can be made into plutonium - which experts believe North Korea used for its nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. It is not clear whether plutonium or uranium was used in the February test.
The reference to altering nuclear facilities could suggest that North Korea may begin openly enriching uranium to weapons-grade levels, which would give it a second, faster route to making nuclear weapons, reports the BBC's Lucy Williamson, who is in Seoul.
How potent are North Korea's threats?
In the weeks since the nuclear test, North Korea's rhetoric has escalated - including multiple threats of attacks on US bases in South Korea and Japan, and on South Korean border islands.
But the US, which has in recent days flown B-52 bombers, B-2 stealth planes and F-22 stealth bombers over South Korea in a show of strength, says it is seeing no signs of increased military activity in North Korea.
"Despite the harsh rhetoric we're hearing from Pyongyang, we are not seeing changes to the North Korean military posture, such as large-scale mobilisations and positioning of forces," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
But he said the US was "monitoring the Korean situation very diligently".
Defence officials told reporters that a US Aegis-class warship capable of defending against missile strikes had also been moved to the south-west coast off South Korea.
This would offer "greater missile defence options should [they] become necessary", an official told Reuters news agency.
Reports also suggest the US is moving a sea-based radar platform called SBX-1 into the western Pacific so that it can monitor North Korea.


Algae have inspired the designs of a Scottish-based textiles producer.

Oban-based Crùbag uses images of healthy and infected algae that have been photographed by scientists with the use of microscope technology.
The business's designer, Jessica Giannotti, has a background in marine science.
Crùbag also works with Dr Claire Gachon, an expert in seaweed at the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS).
The French scientist's research includes studies of green and brown algae and the diseases that affect them.
Crùbag and SAMS are both based at the Scottish Marine Institute in Oban, and a portion of Crùbag's sales goes towards scientific research.
Ms Giannotti said microscopy images taken under UV light helped to reveal colours and patterns of healthy algal cells, and the spores of infections attacking the tiny plant life.
Brown and green algae found on Scotland's coasts have been used to help guide Crùbag's designs.
The business in Argyll was one of nine designer-makers from the Highlands and Islands to exhibit products at the fashion design event, Craft at Top Drawer, earlier this week.
They were brought to the London trade show by Emergents. The Inverness-based community interest company promotes crafts, design, fashion and new writing and publishing in the Highlands and Islands.
Also exhibiting at the trade show was Netty Sopata, of Lewis-based Diggory Brown.
It has been working with Harris Tweed maker, Uist Wool, in North Uist, to create garments that use batches of undyed wool that is usually a by-product of tweed production.
The project was one of five to receive funding from Zero Waste Scotland last year.
The other Emergents' exhibitors were jewellery designers and makers Gilly Langton, from Plockton, and Eileen Gatt, from Munlochy, also Carloway-based fashion accessories designer Rarebird and Highlands textiles businesses Rae Anne and Emma Nobel Textiles and Westray-based textiles designer Hume Sweet Hume.


Conservative criticism of Labour's handling of the NHS in Wales is "legitimate scrutiny", its Welsh leader has claimed after chairing a gathering of health officials in Cardiff.

Ambulance response times and A&E waits were among the topics discussed.
Andrew RT Davies said the discussions would inform Conservative party policy for the 2016 assembly election.
David Cameron and Ed Miliband have repeatedly clashed over health as the general election approaches in May.
Speaking after the meeting at the Senedd on Monday, Mr Davies said:  "From the Welsh Conservative point of view there is legitimate scrutiny of the Welsh government.
"We also want to work with anyone who has the best interests of the Welsh NHS at heart," he added, saying the meeting had been one of 14 the Welsh Conservatives had held on the issue.
The British Medical Association, Royal College of Nursing, Cardiff & Vale University Health Board and the General Medical Council were among the organisations represented.
The Welsh government declined to comment.


MLAs has dropped plans to have four community representatives on Northern Ireland's new education authority, even though the posts have been advertised.

Legislation to create the new authority is currently being fast-tracked through the Northern Ireland Assembly.
MLAs who wanted representation for four school sectors previously not included on the new body have won a compromise.
The community seats will instead go to the Irish medium, integrated, voluntary grammar and controlled grammar sectors.
An extra post has been created for the Catholic maintained sector, to redress a possible religious imbalance on the new education authority.
However, job adverts had already been placed for a chairperson and four community members to join the new authority.
The community members would have been paid a salary of ??8,000, for up to five days work a month.
The education authority is being created to replace Northern Ireland's five existing education and library boards with one, single body.
The aim is to save money by reducing bureaucracy in the education system, and to accommodate planned changes in local government, when Northern Ireland's new super councils begin work next spring.
The new education authority is set to come into being in April 2015.
It will now have 21 members, including eight political representatives.


About 150 train passengers were told to leave an overcrowded train because of safety concerns.

British Transport Police helped Great Western Railway (GWR) staff with some passengers on the London Paddington to Penzance service who refused to leave at Plymouth.
GWR provided another train to Penzance later on Good Friday and said the service had been busier than usual.
It said it was looking at ways to prevent a similar situation on Monday.
A spokesman from GWR said the 10:00 GMT service was "very busy" when it left London Paddington and it "picked up more passengers" as it travelled towards Penzance.
"Two services arrived at Plymouth ahead of the London Paddington service and terminated there, which resulted in a lot of people waiting to board this train.
"The train manager said the situation was unsafe and asked people standing right by the doors to leave."
He said police assisted staff as some passengers did not want to leave.
GWR said a further six carriages were added to a two carriage train that departed about one hour later and took passengers into Cornwall.


Planners could not have picked a worse route for a dual carriageway near a protected wetland, a court has been told.

Environmentalist Chris Murphy is opposing plans to dual the A6 at Toome.
The proposed road is close to Lough Beg, a protected habitat for migratory birds including overwintering swans.
The plan has also caused controversy as it runs through a landscape celebrated in the poetry of Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney who was raised nearby.
Mr Murphy, who is representing himself in court, described himself as "a bird watcher not a lawyer"
He is contesting the decision to proceed with the work on the basis that the proper assessment of its impact has not been done in line with EU legislation.
The case is being contested by the Department for Infrastructure which wants to build the Â£160m stretch of road.
Mr Murphy told the court the department had picked a route that was "most engineeringly difficult and most culturally and environmentally damaging".
He added: "They couldn't have picked a worse route."
Mr Murphy is making the case that environmental information underpinning the decision to proceed was way out of date.
He said the surveys were based on information more than a decade old.
The department ought to have conducted a fresh assessment of the potential impact of the project before going ahead, he added.
For such environmental information to have value it had to be the "best available science" and "up to date".
He said the department for infrastructure had tried to "circumvent" the strict procedures in such cases.
Department officials had been told, he said, but had ploughed on "recklessly".
The A6 at Toomebridge is a major bottleneck on the main Belfast-to-Derry road.
Supporters of the development say the dual carriageway is needed for economic development and safety reasons.


Barnsley scored three goals in nine minutes to come from behind and beat Leeds United in an enthralling Championship derby at Oakwell.

Chris Wood tapped in his 18th goal of the season to put Leeds ahead, before Tom Bradshaw's header on the stroke of half-time began the turnaround.
On-loan winger Ryan Kent swivelled and fired in low to put the Tykes in front.
Conor Hourihane's free-kick made it 3-1, before Wood's penalty after a handball resulted in a tense finish.
The spot-kick was highly controversial, with the ball appearing to hit Barnsley defender Marc Roberts' hand outside the area, but referee Mike Dean pointed to the spot and Wood coolly converted.
It gave Leeds more than 20 minutes to try to find an equaliser, but the hosts' defence - which has leaked 41 goals this season - held on.
Kemar Roofe did have a glorious opportunity to level for Leeds in stoppage time when he bundled wide from a few yards out.
Barnsley captain Hourihane's 25-yard set-piece, which he bent into the top corner, was the pick of the five goals - although it could be his last for the Yorkshire side having been strongly linked with a move to Aston Villa.
The game was also marred by pockets of crowd trouble after Wood's opening goal, but police seemed to quickly separate opposing fans and the rest of the match appeared to pass off peacefully.
Defeat brings Leeds' six-game unbeaten league run to an end, with Huddersfield overtaking them to go third in the table.
Barnsley move back up to eighth and just four points outside the play-offs.
Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom: "I was pleased from the first minute to the last. We did everything we spoke about before the game.
"I think we deserved the win and to come back from behind shows our character.
"We demand a lot and the players love it. They love performing that way and it's good to watch, high intensity and high energy.
"When we play as well as that it'll be tough for a team to beat us."
Leeds boss Garry Monk: "A disappointing result and we're frustrated to lose the game.
"We made the critical mistake of conceding on the stroke of half-time. We were too reactive and they got the goal.
"In the second half they get two quick goals and from our point of view they're poor goals to concede.
"We've been playing at such a high standard so we will have this odd game now and then where we don't perform at our usual high levels."
Match ends, Barnsley 3, Leeds United 2.
Second Half ends, Barnsley 3, Leeds United 2.
Attempt missed. Adam Hammill (Barnsley) right footed shot from outside the box is too high.
Attempt missed. Stuart Dallas (Leeds United) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top left corner. Assisted by Eunan O'Kane.
Corner,  Barnsley. Conceded by Lewie Coyle.
Substitution, Barnsley. Ryan Williams replaces Adam Armstrong.
Attempt missed. Kemar Roofe (Leeds United) with an attempt from the left side of the six yard box is close, but misses to the left.
Kyle Bartley (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Adam Armstrong (Barnsley).
Foul by Pablo Hernández (Leeds United).
Josh Scowen (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Leeds United. Conceded by Angus MacDonald.
Corner,  Leeds United. Conceded by Conor Hourihane.
Corner,  Leeds United. Conceded by Marc Roberts.
Attempt blocked. Kyle Bartley (Leeds United) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Lewie Coyle with a cross.
Substitution, Leeds United. Stuart Dallas replaces Liam Bridcutt.
Adam Armstrong (Barnsley) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Adam Armstrong (Barnsley).
Luke Ayling (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Corner,  Leeds United. Conceded by Marc Roberts.
Attempt saved. Souleymane Doukara (Leeds United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kyle Bartley.
Substitution, Barnsley. Adam Hammill replaces Tom Bradshaw because of an injury.
Corner,  Barnsley. Conceded by Liam Bridcutt.
Foul by Marc Roberts (Barnsley).
Chris Wood (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Attempt missed. Eunan O'Kane (Leeds United) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left.
Attempt blocked. Pablo Hernández (Leeds United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Kemar Roofe.
Attempt missed. Conor Hourihane (Barnsley) left footed shot from outside the box is high and wide to the left. Assisted by Josh Scowen from a direct free kick.
Eunan O'Kane (Leeds United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Josh Scowen (Barnsley) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Eunan O'Kane (Leeds United).
Foul by Adam Armstrong (Barnsley).
Luke Ayling (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Marley Watkins (Barnsley) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Goal!  Barnsley 3, Leeds United 2. Chris Wood (Leeds United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top right corner.
Josh Scowen (Barnsley) is shown the yellow card.
Penalty conceded by Marc Roberts (Barnsley) with a hand ball in the penalty area.
Marley Watkins (Barnsley) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Marley Watkins (Barnsley).
Kemar Roofe (Leeds United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.


A new roof at Manchester's Victoria Station that had a panel cave in, injuring two people, is being inspected as an investigation gets under way.

The panel tore above Platforms 1 and 2 on Tuesday afternoon amid heavy rain.
Witnesses said "gallons of water" fell on people standing on a platform. Two people suffered minor head injuries.
The station remains open with services running normally and a full roof inspection is under way, Northern Rail said on Wednesday.
Contractors for Northern Rail have secured the roof panels that were damaged but the area below remains cordoned off.
The main concourse, which was sealed off over fears other parts of the roof could collapse, has now reopened a spokesperson for Northern said.
The station underwent a £44m upgrade last year, which included the new roof.


Catalans Dragons centre Krisnan Inu will miss the next three Super League games after being banned by the Rugby Football League's disciplinary panel.

Inu was punished for a dangerous throw on Huddersfield prop Eorl Crabtree.
Huddersfield centre Joe Wardle and Castleford forward Matt Cook will miss their side's next two games.
Wardle was sent off against the Dragons after a high tackle on Remi Casty, while Cook admitted a dangerous tackle on Warrington hooker Brad Dwyer.
Wardle will miss his side's trip to Wakefield on Friday and Monday's home game against Salford, while Cook will sit out his club's derby against Leeds on Thursday as well as their trip to Catalans on Monday.


A man has been jailed for grooming a 12-year-old girl on Facebook who he went on to abuse.

Shaun Coles, 24, of Church Street, Louth, admitted a charge of sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13.
Lincoln Crown Court heard he and the girl had initially messaged each other on Facebook before meeting.
The messages between the two were uncovered by the girl's mother after she went missing. Coles was jailed for a total of 30 months.
Read more about this story and others from across Lincolnshire
The girl was meeting Coles and when she returned home she showed police messages between them on her phone.
Tony Standford, prosecuting, said: "Clearly there was a lot of inappropriate conversation and activity had taken place.
"There were numerous references to them being in love and to kissing and cuddling."
Coles admitted in police interviews he knew the girl was only 12 and that his behaviour was unacceptable.
Grace Hale, for the defence, described Coles as "very immature" and said he had issues with ADHD.
"He has been candid in his admissions to the police," she said.
"He had only known the girl for a short time before this incident.
Judge Michael Heath, imposing sentence, said: "You knew that she was 12 years old. You were twice her age.
"This was not the girl's fault. She was the victim and you should not have behaved in the way you did."
In addition to the jail term the judge also placed Coles on the sex offenders' register for life,
He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.


A sculpture made of 250 recycled plastic bottles has been installed on the highest point on the south coast.

The artwork is called Ten Million and stands on top of the Golden Cap above cliffs between Charmouth and Bridport in Dorset.
It was created by Zac Greening to highlight pollution around the coast.
The "light cube" symbolises one of the 10m metric tonnes of plastic that researchers believe are dumped into the sea every year.
It will be in place until early January, and will be illuminated from late afternoon until around 21:00 GMT.
The sculpture has been installed as part of the National Trust's 2015 Coastal Festival.
Helen Mann, the trust's general manager for west and north Dorset, said the sculpture was "an innovative way to help highlight the issues of plastic pollution in our seas and around our coast".


Britain's men made it two wins from two in the Olympic sevens as they edged past New Zealand's conquerors Japan 21-19 in a thriller in their second match.

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GB had opened their campaign with a comfortable 31-7 win over Kenya, Dan Bibby (2), Dan Norton, Phil Burgess and Mark Bennett all scoring.
Against Japan - who upset joint favourites New Zealand 14-12 - GB led deep into the final stages.
But Japan scored a third try, only to miss a conversion to draw with time up.
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New Zealand - who will be without Sonny Bill Williams for the rest of the tournament after he partially ruptured an Achilles tendon - bounced back from their shock opening loss to Japan to beat Kenya.
Augustine Pulu scored 11 points, including three conversions, as the All Blacks recovered from conceding a try inside the first minute to win 28-5.
Team GB only just maintained their 100% start to the tournament when they met Japan, James Rodwell scoring twice and Marcus Watson adding another with captain Tom Mitchell converting all three tries.
The Japanese could have drawn after the final hooter when Lomano Lemeki crossed for Japan's third try, but Katsuyuki Sakai missed the tricky drop-goal conversion.
Britain face New Zealand at 16:30 on Wednesday in the final match in Pool C.
The top two sides in each of the three pools go into the quarter-finals, plus the two best third-placed teams.
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Feel inspired to have a try? Here's our handy guide.


Prime Minister Theresa May should call an early general election, former Tory leader Lord Hague has urged.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Lord Hague said bringing forward the next election could help the UK secure a better deal in Brexit negotiations.
Lord Hague said an early election "would strengthen the government's hand at home and abroad" but acknowledged an imminent election was unlikely.
The next election is due in May 2020 under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.
Lord Hague advocated repealing the legislation which was brought in by the coalition.
Lord Hague said the government faced "the most complex challenges of modern times".
These included "Brexit negotiations, the Trump administration, the threat from Scottish nationalists, and many other issues".
A snap election "would catch the Labour Party in its worst condition since the early 30s, and with its least credible leader ever".
"There is no doubt that they [the prime minister and cabinet] would be in a stronger position to take the country through these challenges successfully if they had a large and decisive majority in the Commons and a new full term ahead of them," he said.
He continued: "Any [Brexit] deal is bound to be full of compromises which one group or another in Parliament finds difficult to stomach.
"As British law needs to be amended countless times to take account of leaving the EU treaties, the government could face many close votes, concessions or defeats as it tries to implement Brexit.
"That prospect will embolden the EU negotiators, and makes an agreement that is good for the UK harder to achieve.
"It could also lead to a situation where the prime minister faces a stand-off with Parliament over a deal that will have taken two years to negotiate and is nearly impossible to change."
Mrs May has warned peers they could "incentivise" the EU to offer the UK a bad Brexit deal if they pass a further amendment to the Article 50 bill.
The House of Lords is expected to vote at about 17:00 GMT on Tuesday on an amendment calling for Westminster to be given a "meaningful" vote on the withdrawal agreement secured by the prime minister during negotiations under Article 50.


An Edinburgh student has created a cookery kit to encourage people to eat insects as part of their daily diet.

Creepy-crawlies like beetles, caterpillars and grasshoppers are a staple food in many parts of the world.
However, despite them being low in fat and calories and containing as much protein as beef, many in the Western world steer clear of eating insects.
As part of her degree show, student Courtney Yule has designed a "starter kit" for turning them into a meal.
The 22-year-old, who is in the final year of a product design course at Edinburgh Napier University, was inspired by studies identifying entomophagy - eating insects - as the best way to feed the growing global population.
Harvesting insects is also seen by experts as more environmentally-friendly than traditional livestock farming which requires land, crops for feed, and animals and machinery which produce greenhouse gases.
The plastic Entopod includes a grinder to create insect flour to bake into recipes or add to shakes, and detachable containers to heat food in the oven, microwave or on a cooker.
Insect fondue is also a possibility with the addition of a candle underneath the leg stand, and the reverse ends of the eating utensils used as skewers.
Insect snacks can also be stored in the detachable containers for lunch.
The device is one of hundreds of exhibits created by students to be showcased at Edinburgh Napier's 2015 Degree Show from 22 May.
Miss Yule said: "The main barrier is obviously getting consumers to accept the idea of eating insects. Before I began this work I didn't even like to touch them, but I don't have any problem with eating them now and it is a practice which is growing in popularity every day.
"People think nothing about eating prawns and shrimps but they have a different reaction to grasshoppers and crickets. However, the more you read about the health benefits, the less bothered you become.
"You can do anything with insects; sweet and sour grasshopper, mealworm macaroni, lime and ginger locusts or cricket cookies."
Miss Yule carried out research which found most people would consider eating insects.
However, many did find the look off-putting, even those who enjoyed lobster or prawns. The taste and texture of the initial bite often came as a pleasant surprise, and she decided there would be interest in a 'starter kit' which allowed people to experiment with entomophagy.
Miss Yule, from Berwick-upon-Tweed, added: "A lot of people are now supplying dried insects but in the course of my research I have not seen any other products which help in preparing them to eat.
"I am now at the stage of tweaking design components, and although the prototype is white I am also working on bright neon and anodised colours resembling the natural colouring of insects.
"After the degree show, I will be taking it down to the New Designers show in London in July."


Nick Kennedy knows London Irish will face a tough examination when they return to Premiership action in September in the London Double Header.

Irish director of rugby Kennedy will see his side face Harlequins at Twickenham in the season opener.
The Exiles are back in the top flight after winning promotion from the Championship at the first attempt.
"We're happy to be back, but we know it's a huge, huge challenge ahead of us," Kennedy told BBC Sport.
Irish will travel to defending champions Exeter the week after facing Quins in an opening month which also features Friday-night trips to Sale and Newcastle.
"Every game's difficult," Kennedy said. "We won't think about them individually until they come around.
"We all love the Premiership. It's a league we thoroughly enjoy being in as a club.
"We missed it and we did enjoy our time in the Championship, we felt we learnt a lot and built a lot of strong foundations down there. But, this is ultimately where we want to be."
Irish's new signings, including Samoa lock Teofilo Paulo and Fiji winger Napolioni Nalaga, will join up with the squad for pre-season training in the next couple of weeks.
"They're going to add experience, strength in depth and we're going to get competition for a few places now," Kennedy added.


A victim of abuse at Kincora Boys' Home has failed in his appeal to overturn a ruling that investigations into the home be conducted by the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry.

Gary Hoy was sexually abused by two men who were subsequently convicted.
Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan ruled that "the HIA is entitled to proceed along the route mapped by it".
There have been allegations that a paedophile ring at Kincora was linked to the British intelligence services.
Sir Declan said: "There is a suggestion in this case that children in Kincora were abused and prostituted in order to satisfy the interests of national security.
"If that is true it must be exposed.
"As a society we must not repeat the errors of the institutions and should remember the obligations to our children."
Dismissing the appeal, he added that the decision "does not in any way detract from the need to ensure that our obligations to these children are satisfied".
Mr Hoy stood at back of court as the verdict was read and said to the judge: "If it was your grandchildren, would you not want justice?"
He then walked out of the court and shouted: "Cover-up."
Three senior care staff at Kincora were jailed in 1981 for abusing 11 boys.
At least 29 boys were abused at the home between the late 1950s and the early 1980s.
One of the men who was later convicted, William McGrath, is believed to have been an MI5 agent.
The HIA was set up in 2013 to investigate child abuse in residential institutions in Northern Ireland over a 73-year period, up to 1995.
These included a range of institutions, run by the church, state and voluntary sector.
On Tuesday, the HIA will begin its public hearings into what happened at Kincora.


Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has compared the rhetoric of US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to that of German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

In an interview with Mexican daily Excelsior, he called Mr Trump's rhetoric "strident".
He added that "that's how [Italian fascist leader] Mussolini got in, that's how Hitler got in".
The Mexican leader also said that Mr Trump had hurt US-Mexico relations.
Donald Trump has said that if he is elected he will build a wall along the US-Mexico border to keep migrants from crossing into the US illegally.
The Republican candidate has also insisted that Mexico would pay for the border wall, which President Pena Nieto dismissed out of hand.
He said there was "no scenario" under which Mexico would ever pay for such a wall.
Mr Trump, who has made the fight against illegal immigration the main plank of his campaign, outraged Mexicans last June when he called undocumented Mexican migrants "criminals" and "rapists".
President Pena Nieto said Mr Trump offered "very easy, simple solutions to problems that are obviously not that easy to solve".
"And there have been episodes in human history, unfortunately, where these expressions of this strident rhetoric have only led to very ominous situations in the history of humanity," he said.
"That's how Mussolini got in, that's how Hitler got in, they took advantage of a situation, a problem perhaps, which humanity was going through at the time, after an economic crisis," he added.
President Pena Nieto, who had up until now avoided commenting on Mr Trump's candidacy, insisted he would be "absolutely respectful" of the US political process.
His predecessors in office, however, have been more outspoken.
Former President Vicente Fox used an expletive on live television when he said Mexico would not pay for the border wall proposed by Mr Trump.
Felipe Calderon, who governed from 2006 to 2012, also dismissed the idea saying: "Mexican people, we are not going to pay any single cent for such a stupid wall!"


Ghanaians are being questioned about the cause of a petrol station fire in the capital, Accra, in which some 150 people died on Wednesday night.

It is believed flood waters carried fuel from a garage storage tank towards a nearby fire, causing the explosion.
But the fire service is trying to establish where exactly it started.
The salvage operation is continuing as residents say they are finding more bodies of victims killed in the fire and the flooding that has hit the city.
Three days of national mourning will start for those all those who died on Monday, once the official death toll is known, the government says.
Africa news updates
President John Dramani Mahama has described the incident as "catastrophic" and "unprecedented".
People had sought shelter at the petrol station after being stranded by flooding and rain; buildings adjoining the garage were also burnt.
The president has vowed to take tough measures to stop people building illegally on stream beds during the dry months.
They pour rocks and sand onto the beds before constructing buildings, so when the rains come the water rises and is diverted into nearby communities causing flooding.
"I think that the time has come for us to remove houses out of water and the public should understand that it is necessary to save everybody else," President Mahama said.
One of the investigators, Harriet Nunoo, told our reporter that it had been established that fuel had spilled from the petrol station and mixed with flood waters sweeping into nearby homes, where it had come into contact with naked fire.
The BBC's Sammy Darko in Accra says tensions have been running high as fire investigators question witnesses.
Some young men became angry, denying they caused the fire.
One witness suggested that the fire started when a cigarette was dropped, our reporter says.
#ThisMustStop trending
Ghanaians are using the hashtag #ThisMustStop to vent their feelings, accusing those in power of not doing enough to ensure flooding does not happen.
"It's amazing how Gov't thinks we are all idiots! We repeat the floodtalk every year and do NOTHING about it," said George Kojo Anti.
Other tweeters called on residents of the capital to take some responsibility and pick up litter that ends up clogging up the drains. "We litter our surroundings without thinking and tend to put the blame on the government when something goes wrong with sanity," abdulbassit tweeted.
Following an emergency meeting of cabinet and security chiefs on how to tackle flooding, the government said it would release Â£9m ($14m) to help flood victims.
In total, an estimated 200 people have died in the petrol station fire and flooding across the country, the interior ministry has said.
Throughout Thursday night and into Friday morning the emergency services in Accra have been removing cars and other rubbish that have been washed into storm drains, our correspondent says.
All over the city, people are trying to salvage their belongings from homes and businesses affected by the flooding, he says.
Electricity has been restored to some areas after electricity sub-stations were damaged in the flooding but some internet services are still down, he says.
It has been raining again and more downpours are expected over the weekend, bringing fears of further flooding, our correspondent says.


Scottish comic Frankie Boyle is to make a special programme for the BBC iPlayer about this year's general election.

Frankie Boyle's Election Autopsy will be available from 17 May and will be similar to his satirical analysis of last year's Scottish referendum.
The BBC said the show, to be recorded at Wilton's Music Hall in London, would see the comedian make "bold and often outrageous statements about the vote".
Matt Berry and Jo Brand will also appear in upcoming iPlayer commissions.
The former will kick off in a new topical comedy series with an "anthropologic look" at the Oxford v Cambridge boat race, available on the iPlayer from 5 April.
The latter, meanwhile, will present a "private view" of Grayson Perry's upcoming new exhibition at the Turner Contemporary gallery in Margate, available from 23 May.


Ambulance management in the east of England have been told they are running a "flimsy excuse for a service" by their own paramedics.

The complaints were raised at a board meeting of the East of England Ambulance Service held in Norwich.
Essex paramedic Ian Harvey told how a pregnant woman was recently taken to hospital by car because an ambulance was unavailable.
The ambulance service said it would be considering the concerns raised.
Mr Harvey, and fellow Essex paramedic David Taylor, claimed there was "widespread bullying of workers" and that managers "don't care about frontline staff".
Mr Harvey said waits for a fully-equipped ambulance - rather than a rapid response vehicle - could vary between two minutes and two hours.
Mr Harvey said: "This is a service which impacts on the public greatly, it is life or death."
Responding to concerns, board chairman Paul Remington, said: "It's vital to have a discussion, however uncomfortable"
A spokesman for the ambulance service said the two Essex paramedics had been "asked to share their concerns and listen to how the trust is going forward in the future".


Championship side Millwall have signed right-back Conor McLaughlin after he turned down a new deal with Fleetwood.

McLaughlin made 200 appearances for the Cod Army after joining the League One club from Shrewsbury in July 2012.
The Northern Ireland international featured in 42 games in all competitions last season.
"He's a solid, reliable right-back, who is first and foremost a very good defender," Millwall manager Neil Harris told the club website.
The 25-year-old has won 26 caps for Northern Ireland, with his only goal to date coming in the 4-0 World Cup qualifier win over Azerbaijan in Belfast in November.
McLaughlin made his debut as a substitute against Italy in October 2011 and was part of manager Michael O'Neill's squad at the Euro 2016 finals in France.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


On this week's edition of Tech Tent we look at two visions of the future of gaming, and we ask whether we should be worried or excited by the latest advances in artificial intelligence.

Finally, after all the hype and excitement, consumers are about to  get their hands on virtual reality headsets - and we will find out whether there really is a market for this technology. Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive are both released in the next few weeks, and at the Games Developer Conference in San Francisco Sony unveiled its launch date and price.
While Playstation owners will have to wait until October to get their hands on the Sony VR headset, they will pay far less for it than for a Vive or Oculus setup. With nearly 40 million PS4 owners around the world, there's a ready-made market for Sony's offering, so by Christmas it's a fair bet that it will be the leader in VR.
Mind you, while there is now a huge amount of experimentation around VR and 360 degree video (see last week's BBC Click for example) there is still confusion about how it will be used beyond gaming. At a launch event for Nokia's Ozo 360 camera last night, I was shown a number of demos filmed with the device.
I stood next to the vocalist as a band performed, watched as a bear approached a group of nervous people at a campsite, and saw trainee astronauts learning about weightlessness in a swimming pool. The VR headset meant I could choose my own perspective on each scene, but once the novelty wore off the question remained - what is this for? Still, music producers, moviemakers and educationalists are all now producing 360 and VR material, so hopefully they will find an answer to my question.
At the end of a week where Google's AI program AlphaGo defeated a champion Go player, the artificial intelligence community is discussing what this triumph of machine over man means. I visited Microsoft's UK research lab in Cambridge where a number of artificial intelligence projects are under way , including one experiment using AI in the game Minecraft and another where a program examines scans of brain tumours.
The man who runs the lab, Chris Bishop, says it's wrong to paint a dystopian future in which machines gradually replace us as they get ever smarter. Instead he sees AI as a collaboration between humans and computers - for instance doctors using the brain tumour scanning program to assist their diagnoses rather than replacing them.
"We need to talk instead about a partnership in which machine intelligence and human intelligence work together," he says. "It's the case today, and will be the case for some time to come that the capabilities of machines, the capabilities of humans are different and complementary and if they work together they will be stronger than either of them alone."
Incidentally, for a different view, have a look at this piece from Tom Chatfield in the Guardian. He argues that in designing AI systems, we humans are making too many concessions to inflexible computers.
Back to gaming and we look at the boom in a phenomenon which is familiar to anyone under 25 but a mystery to the older generation - watching video games online. The big player in the live streaming of video games is Twitch, which was bought by Amazon 18 months ago. But we hear from a rival, Ian Sharpe, who says his Azubu streaming service has a different approach. While Twitch lets anyone become a broadcaster, playing anything from Call of Duty to Minecraft, Azubu is more focused on professional eSports.
Last  week it signed a deal with the Electronic Sports League to stream exclusive content from esports tournaments - and Ian Sharpe tells us that this is going to be a new boom area for media firms looking to reach those elusive "millennials" who don't watch boring old telly.
Tune in to Tech Tent on the BBC World Service at 15:00 GMT for all that and more or catch the podcast later.


UKIP Scotland have launched their election manifesto with a pledge to "ensure Brexit means exit".

The party, which is standing in 10 seats across Scotland on 8 June, launched its manifesto in Edinburgh.
Leader David Coburn said UKIP was the only party which would act as a true opposition to the SNP and which would "cut all ties" with the "dinosaur" EU.
He also spoke out against Scottish independence, backing "a strong Scotland in a strong United Kingdom".
The key aim of the manifesto is economic growth, which Mr Coburn said would not occur "while there is the uncertainty of a second independence referendum".
It also calls for Scottish tax rates to be "no higher than the rest of the UK, preferably lower", and said policy should "encourage Scots to stay in Scotland, build their businesses and employ their fellow Scots".
The party also wants to cut the UK's foreign aid budget, saying "charity begins at home", and opposes Conservative reforms to social care such as the so-called 'dementia tax'.
The manifesto sets a series of tests to ensure that "the government's feet are held to the fire" throughout the Brexit negotiations. These include demands that talks conclude inside two years, that there no financial settlement or ongoing payments to the EU after the UK leaves, and that the UK resume complete control of a 200-mile maritime exclusive zone and take "full control" over immigration.
UKIP Scotland also oppose any further devolution of powers to Holyrood, saying they are "wary of 'independence by accident' and will draw a read line at the transfer of further powers from Westminster".
Mr Coburn said: "Scotland must fully leave the European Union and its single market, whose one size fits all trans-continental bureaucratic rules damage our entrepreneurial society.
"The old parties in Scotland are willing to accept a semi-divorced relationship with the EU, where we have legislation forced upon us. UKIP is the only party in Scotland which wants to cut all ties with the sclerotic, undemocratic European Union and bring its powers back to where they belong.
"UKIP wants a strong Scotland inside a strong United Kingdom. Only by cooperating and working together will this be possible."
At the launch, the MEP also described SNP education policies as "unreadable gobbledegook", and said the Tories were "trying to steal [UKIP's] clothes" and were too soft on the matter of a second Scottish independence referendum.
Other Scottish parties dismissed UKIP as a "laughing stock" with "no presence in Scottish politics".
A spokesman for Scottish Labour said: "UKIP has long been the laughing stock of Scottish politics - and rightly so.
"Many of its ideas are despicable and it is a relief that the prospect of it winning any seats is preposterous. In seats across Scotland, it is a straight fight between Labour and the SNP - the Tories and UKIP are just not at the races.
And a spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said: "This low-key and anonymous event confirms UKIP has no presence in Scottish politics. Its manifesto pretends UKIP is the only party serious about keeping Scotland in the UK.
"That's completely wrong, and the Scottish Conservatives have proved time and again to be the natural home for voters who want Britain to stay together."


Brentford midfielder Alan Judge, Burnley striker Andre Gray and Fulham forward Ross McCormack have been nominated for the Football League's Championship player of the year award.

Gray, 24, has scored 23 league goals this season - 21 of them coming since a £9m move from Brentford in August.
McCormack, 29, has netted 21 times in the Championship for struggling Fulham.
Judge, 27, scored 14 goals in 38 league games for Brentford before suffering a season-ending injury on Saturday.
The Republic of Ireland international broke his leg in the win at Ipswich, which will rule him out of Euro 2016 in France this summer.
"It has been Alan's most productive season and he has been talismanic for us," Brentford head coach Dean Smith told BBC Radio London.
"I am really pleased he has been recognised for what he has been doing. It is going to be hard for whoever has to pick between those three players.
"Whoever wins it is going to deserve it."
The Football League Awards ceremony will be held in Manchester on Sunday.
Championship Player of the Year: Andre Gray (Burnley), Alan Judge (Brentford), Ross McCormack (Fulham)
League One Player of the Year: Nicky Ajose (Swindon), Bradley Dack (Gillingham), Romaine Sawyers (Walsall)
League Two Player of the Year: Ricky Holmes (Northampton), Kemar Roofe (Oxford), Matty Taylor (Bristol Rovers)
Young Player of the Year: Lewis Cook (Leeds), Moussa Dembele (Fulham), Rico Henry (Walsall)


Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie is to join the London School of Economics as a visiting professor on a new masters course.

The LSE said the course will be run by its Centre for Women, Peace and Security, launched last year by Ms Jolie and Lord Hague.
The pair co-founded a global initiative to tackle sexual violence in conflict zones in 2012.
It followed a 2011 film Ms Jolie directed depicting the Bosnian war.
Her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, was set against the backdrop of the 1992-95 Bosnian war in which an estimated 20,000 women were believed to have been raped.
"It is vital that we broaden the discussion on how to advance women's rights and end impunity for crimes that disproportionately affect women, such as sexual violence in conflict," Ms Jolie, a special envoy for the UN refugee agency, said.
"I am looking forward to teaching and to learning from the students, as well as to sharing my own experiences of working alongside governments and the UN."
The former Foreign Secretary Lord Hague will also be joining LSE as a visiting professor.


A newborn baby died as a result of "failings" at a hospital, an inquest has heard.

Dylan Oates, from Littleborough, was four days old when he died at the Royal Oldham Hospital on 20 January 2014.
The trust issued a "sincere apology" and accepted the care which Dylan and his parents received was "sub-standard".
Six other babies and three mothers also died at the hospital during an eight-month period up to July 2014.
North Manchester coroner Lisa Hashmi said staff missed irregularities in Dylan's heartbeat as he and his mother were not efficiently monitored.
Gill Harris, Chief Nurse at The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust, apologised for the "failings and sub-standard care afforded to Dylan and his parents".
She said it was a "desperately sad case" and she sincerely apologised and expressed sympathy to his parents and family for their loss.
The inquest heard his mother Jayne Oates was admitted to the hospital six days before Dylan's death as she was overdue.
After his birth, he was taken to intensive care as he was not breathing or crying and his condition deteriorated.
Ms Hashmi said Dylan had suffered neglect at the hospital and his death could have been prevented.
She identified poor midwifery leadership and staffing levels as well as ambiguities in the trust's guidelines.
Martin Oates, Dylan's father, said they were "devastated" by the loss of their baby.
He said: "This investigation has uncovered that many things should have been done differently during the days leading up to Dylan's birth.
"It gives us some comfort that as a result of this investigation improvements are being made."


Glasgow Prestwick Airport recorded a loss of more than £9m last year, according to its annual accounts.

The Scottish government-owned airport made a pre-tax loss of £9.2m for 2015-2016 - an increase on the £8.9m loss the previous year.
The airport said the losses reported were less than the figure forecast in its budget.
Ministers bought the airport for just £1 from owners Infratil in late 2013 amid fears it could close.
The government estimated in December that the bailout could reach £40m by 2018.
The annual report from TS Prestwick Holdco Limited - the company set up up to acquire the airport on behalf of Scottish ministers - shows the airport flew 17 routes to five different countries in 2015-2016.
Other figures in the report for that financial year show the airport handled:
In the coming months, bosses at Prestwick will set out a five-year plan designed to make the airport's profits soar. And they're under pressure to deliver. The Scottish government has pledged to give almost £9.5m in loans to the airport in the current financial year. By the end of the year, taxpayers' stake in Prestwick will have risen to £39.5m.
But ministers are determined to keep Prestwick airport open, to safeguard jobs at the cluster of aerospace firms there.
So the goal must be to attract more passengers and airlines to Prestwick. For now, Ryanair's the only airline which flies scheduled services from Prestwick. But attracting others may be difficult. Prestwick already faces intense competition from Glasgow and Edinburgh airports, which are ambitious for growth - and more convenient for central belt passengers.
There's one other stellar possibility, which could turn around Prestwick's fortunes. The airport, along with Machrihanish on the Kintyre peninsula, are on the short-list of airports vying to become the UK's first spaceport.
For now, the legislation required to enable that first commercial spaceport has been put in a holding pattern, by Brexit.
But there's a growing market for launching small or nano-satellites, which could be used for communications such as broadband. Both Scottish sites want to tap into this market, and lay down the infrastructure for future projects like space tourism.
Prestwick may fit the bill. It has a huge runway - long enough to have been earmarked by NASA for emergency landings of America's Space Shuttle, although that never happened.  Its supporters say what Prestwick has is too good to waste - and that it deserves a chance to be transformed into a space hub.
Ryanair is currently the only scheduled airline flying to and from Prestwick.
The airport also handles some charter flights - including recent flights to and from the Open golf.
The number of flights include freight transport flights - and movement through fixed based operations (FBO's), for example executive, military, and general aviation.
A spokesperson for Glasgow Prestwick said the airport had a new executive team in place who were working to rebuild the business.
The statement added: "The repositioning of the business will take time. We believe we are starting to move in the right direction with passenger numbers increasing, new property leases being agreed and the securing of a US government fuel contract in financial year ending 31 March 2017.
"We had forecast increased losses in financial year ending 31 March 2016. This was primarily due to the movement of a number of Ryanair flights to other airports.
"However, the losses reported are less than what was forecast in our budgets."


Australia captain Michael Clarke has been ruled out of October's one-day series against Pakistan in the UAE with a "significant" hamstring injury.

The 33-year-old batsman missed much of the recent tour of Zimbabwe, when George Bailey led the side.
Australia physio Alex Kountouris said: "The scans show tendon damage, which complicates the recovery."
The limited-overs series starts with a Twenty20 in Dubai on 5 October, followed by three ODIs.
The sides then meet in two Tests, for which Clarke - a veteran of 105 Tests and 237 one-day internationals - will be assessed nearer the time.
It marks the start of a busy period for Australia, who play South Africa at home in three T20s and five ODIs in November.
They also welcome India for four Tests before staging a triangular one-day tournament involving England and India in January.
They then host the World Cup, with their first game against England in Melbourne on 14 February.


The new Edinburgh Council leader has hit back at criticism he was not wearing a tie at a signing ceremony saying he was "focused on things that matter".

Adam McVey, 30, came under fire for wearing an open necked shirt at the signing of the Edinburgh's City Deal.
A community councillor wrote to Mr McVey saying it was a "disgraceful" way to represent the city.
However, Mr McVey said dress code had evolved in the last 50 years.
Mr McVey said: "My suits and jumpers will not build the new homes we need or improve the life chances of a single person in the capital.
"I'm focused on delivering the things that matter to Edinburgh. Dress codes have evolved in the last 50 years for women and men.
"Comments about the condition of my collar is only a fraction of the abuse and criticism many women unfortunately still experience for what they wear."
Norman Tinlin, who is secretary of Fairmilehead community council, told the BBC Scotland news website: "I wrote to Mr McVey in a personal capacity to tell him how I thought it had been a disgraceful way to represent the capital city next to government minsters.
"In my mind he doesn't seem properly dressed. I wear a tie to meetings with councillors and always dress appropriately.
"What he wears on a personal basis is up to him.
"If I was doing business with him and he turned up like this I would walk away from him.
"He is the figure head of the city and I'm concerned about the image he is projecting as the leader of the capital.
"If he was meeting the Queen, I wonder what he would wear, it makes you wonder."
Edinburgh and south east Scotland are to receive a multi-million pound boost after the City Deal was agreed last week.
The UK and Scottish governments are each investing Â£300m in the project.
The money will be used to support innovation, infrastructure, housing, tourism and culture including a new concert hall in St Andrew Square.
Contributions from councils and universities are expected to take the total investment in the deal to about Â£1bn.


Celebrated London-based architect Dame Zaha Hadid was regarded as the world's leading female architect.

She was awarded the Royal Institute of British Architect's Royal Gold Medal for her lifetime's work in September - an award, approved by the Queen, she said meant a lot to her.
She was born in Baghdad in 1950 and moved to the UK in the early 1970s where she trained at the Architectural Association in London.
BBC News looks back at some of Dame Zaha's award-winning designs.
Dame Zaha first gained public recognition by winning a competition to design The Peak Leisure Club in Hong Kong in 1983. Despite it winning, it was never built.
Her first major design to be constructed was made from reinforced concrete and set within a factory complex in Germany in 1993.
She described it as an abstract design and an extension of the lines in the adjacent farmland and vineyards.
Dame Zaha said the national museum built in 2009 was inspired by the movement of rivers and streams, as it is located by the River Tiber.
The interconnecting shapes of the concrete walls also serve to stabilise the building, which is built on land susceptible to earthquakes.
"I love the London Aquatics Centre because it's near where I live," Dame Zaha said. It was designed for the London 2012 Olympic Games and the roof resembles a wave, dipping higher and lower above the racing pool and diving pit.
During the Olympics it contained 17,500 seats, but most of these have been removed to make it cheaper to heat for everyday use.
The 2012 centre in Azerbaijan connecting three buildings - a library, museum and concert hall - was notable for being a complex, fluid space.
Its unusual design was based on the contours of a mountain range, she said.
Dame Zaha, who won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, continues to innovate and was particularly praised for her design of the Guangzhou Opera House in China in 2010. The building was inspired by the River Pearl which it overlooks.
She appeared in the BBC Woman's Hour power list in 2013 and is the first woman to be awarded the Royal Institute of British Architects' Royal Gold Medal.


Kim Little has got over the disappointment of missing Scotland women's first major finals through injury and is looking ahead to the 2019 World Cup qualifiers instead.

The Arsenal midfielder had knee surgery two weeks ago to repair an anterior cruciate ligament injury and expects to be back playing early in 2018.
"I got a bit emotional originally but got over it quite quickly," she said.
"My thoughts are on the World Cup qualifiers that begin after the Euros."
Little made her Scotland debut in 2007 and has since gone on to win 121 caps.
Her absence, along with that of Jen Beattie, Lizzie Arnot and Emma Mitchell, will be keenly felt by head coach Anna Signeul as she prepares the Euro 2017 squad for the Netherlands finals where Scotland play England, Spain and Portugal in the group stage.
Little, who had three years at Seattle Reign before a stint at Melbourne City preceded her move to Arsenal, will be a pundit for broadcaster Channel Four at the finals.
"It was very bad timing but these things happen in sport," she said of her injury, which she sustained training with Arsenal.
"It's obviously very disappointing for me, Jen and Emma and Lizzie but we're all young and we'll be back, I'm sure.
"I've been very lucky not to have been on the sidelines before.
"It is nice to have a different perspective because when you're playing you are so absorbed in that.
"I'm just excited now to watch the girls who have the opportunity to play."
Little feels there is now a good mix of players in the Scotland squad.
She highlighted the veteran goalkeeper Gemma Fay, who won her 200th cap in Friday's 1-0 win over the Republic of Ireland, a clutch of players in their mid- to late-20s with five years' international experience, and younger players to have emerged such as Chloe Arthur, Sophie Howard, Erin Cuthbert and Fiona Brown.
Little told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound that she will be sorry to see Signeul depart to take over the Finland women's team after the Euros but welcomes the arrival of Shelley Kerr "in the new era" as they strive to reach the World Cup in France in two years' time.
Scotland will take on Switzerland, Poland, Belarus and Albania in their qualification campaign, which runs for a year from September.
"She has been the manager for as long as I've been in the team," she said.
"Anna has improved the game a lot in Scotland, with the national academy that has been set up, and the improvement of us physically has helped us qualify for our first national tournament."


Novak Djokovic will play Kei Nishikori in Sunday's Miami Open final after both went through in straight sets.

Serbia's Djokovic, the five-time champion and world number one, beat Belgian David Goffin 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 on a hot afternoon.
Japanese sixth seed Nishikori beat Australian Nick Kyrgios 6-3 7-5 in the evening session.
"It's going to be tough," said Nishikori, who has won just two of eight matches against Djokovic.
"We just played in Australia and I lost in straight sets, so I need to do something better."
Djokovic, 28, will try to match Andre Agassi's record haul of six Miami titles, and become the first man to win the Indian Wells-Miami double three years in a row.
Djokovic bent down and kissed the court after finally seeing off 15th seed Goffin in a gruelling two hours and five minutes.
"It was evident that we both struggled with conditions," said the Serb.
"Physically, it was a great battle. I think we were both trying to catch some breath after some points. It was windy, it was warm, it was humid."
The top seed came back from a break down in the first set, before Goffin missed a golden opportunity with the open court gaping at 4-4 in the tie-break.
"I was on the back foot in that point, he was dictating," said Djokovic. "He came to the net and I anticipated where he might smash the ball, he framed it a little bit.
"I had to defend well, which I think I did at the end of the tie-break."
Kyrgios had shown off his firepower in beating Milos Raonic on Friday, but he could not handle Nishikori's pinpoint accuracy from the baseline.
The Australian dropped serve with a  double fault in game three, and did the same on set point six games later.
Nishikori looked to be faltering when he failed to hold for 3-0 in the second set, but the Japanese player avoided the need for a tie-break with a lunging volley on his second match point.
"It was tough. When he plays me he plays so aggressive, doesn't let me dictate points," said Kyrgios.
"I felt rushed out there, I was really looking for answers. I've been struggling on my serve all week, so to come this far without having my best weapon is a pretty good effort."
Nishikori, 26, is through to his first Miami final and second at the Masters 1000 level.


Police have carried out roadside searches as part of an investigation into the discovery of a missing man's body in Perthshire.

James Richardson's body was found near Forteviot on 12 July.
The Police Investigation and Review Commissioner (Pirc) has launched an inquiry.
Its investigation will focus on the initial police response following a report of concern made about the 29-year-old's welfare.
Mr Richardson, who was from Wishaw, North Lanarkshire, was last seen getting off a bus which left T in the Park on 11 July.
Police said last week that his death was not suspicious.
Officers have carried out searches on the side of the A9 dual carriageway between Auchterarder and Perth as part of the investigation.
A section of the northbound carriageway on the Cairney Braes, between the Dunning and Forteviot junctions, was shut on Monday night.
Police vehicles were parked at the end of the coned-off section as officers scoured undergrowth at the side of the road.
A Tayside Division spokeswoman said: "Police Scotland acknowledges the Pirc investigation into the initial police response following a report of concern made about James Richardson's welfare in the Forteviot area of Perthshire.
"We will co-operate fully with the investigation and will address any recommendations which may be made."


Lewis Hamilton said it felt "unreal" after victory in the Japanese Grand Prix moved him level with his boyhood hero Ayrton Senna on 41 race wins.

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"It's quite an emotional day.  I'm full of joy and happiness and light," said the 30-year-old British driver.
He defended the first-lap overtake of Nico Rosberg, which forced his Mercedes team-mate wide and he dropped to fourth before fighting back to second.
Hamilton is now 48 points clear of the German in the title race.
"The inside line is the inside line, so it was my corner," said Hamilton.
"I can imagine Nico was running out of road but that's what happens when you're on the outside."
Rosberg said: "It got really close on the exit of Turn Two and I had to back out of it there and that lost me the race.
"I haven't seen it on TV. For sure it was close. I had to avoid a collision. But it is difficult to comment now."
Sunday was Hamilton's 162nd race, one more than Senna started in a career that ended tragically at Imola in 1994.
The Brazilian won twice at Suzuka in 1988 and 1993 and Hamilton's victory was also his second at the circuit.
"For me to win here at a race where I loved watching Ayrton drive and to match his wins, it doesn't feel real at the moment," he said.
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Rosberg and Hamilton were warned last year not to risk taking each other out in racing situations following an incident in the Belgian Grand Prix when they collided, leading to Hamilton's eventual retirement.
Rosberg was reprimanded by the team after that incident and the two drivers were warned that they risked their future at the team if they damaged each other's cars out on track.
But team boss Toto Wolff expressed no problems with the incident.
"Lewis had a better start and stuck his nose in," he said. "It was a tough corner for both of them."
Hamilton also defended his move in a BBC TV interview, pointing to footage that showed he was ahead as the two drivers began to accelerate out of Turn Two.
"I knew that it was my right of way," he said. "Once I got my car slightly ahead I knew that it was my right of way. I was ahead, so that is my road. I don't particularly think it was too close."
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Asked if he ever feels sorry for Rosberg about coming second best in wheel-to-wheel racing, Hamilton added: "Rosberg was fair. He drives incredibly well and has done a great job this year.
"This is racing and that is what it is all about. There have been times when I have fallen behind. It happens."
Wolff added: "It is always very difficult to race your team-mate. It was a tricky situation for both. Lewis said he had understeer and he ran out of track and two cars side by side in Turn Two is difficult anyway."
Japanese GP results
Japanese GP coverage details