The Attorney General has lost his battle to bring a murder charge against Kirk Mundy following the slaying of Canadian teenager Rebecca Middleton nearly two years ago.

The Privy Council in London have thrown out an appeal by Attorney General Elliott Mottley against an earlier decision by the Court of Appeal that Mundy could not be prosecuted for the killing -- because he had already been convicted of being an accessory.

Mundy, 23, had originally agreed to testify against Justis Smith, 18, who was charged with murder soon after the death of 17-year-old Ms Middleton at Ferry Reach, St. George's, in July 1996.

But in January Mundy was indicted on a murder charge via a voluntary bill -- despite the fact that he had already pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and was serving a five year prison term for the offence. The indictment was challenged but a Supreme Court ruling gave the Attorney General the go-ahead to prosecute.

But the Court of Appeal overturned the decision, saying that Mundy could not now be charged with murder having already pleaded guilty to being an accessory. In the final chapter of a drawn out legal wrangle that decision has been upheld -- leaving no alternative. It means that Justis Smith, 18, will now stand trial for murder on his own.