THE father of Scots drug mule Melissa Reid has been prevented from launching a campaign to warn young travellers about the dangers of getting involved in illegal activity while abroad.
William Reid's daughter was caught smuggling cocaine worth £1.5 million of Peru alongside fellow traveller Michaela McCollum Connolly.
Mr Reid wanted the authorities to allow him to lecture teenagers at Glasgow Airport but it has been reported that Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill, who Reid reportedly met with in February, has blocked his request on behalf of the Scottish Government, Home Office and the airport. It has been ten months since Reid, 20, and Connolly, also 20, were caught with the cocaine as they boarded a Spain-bound flight in Peru.
They claimed they were forced into the crime by gangsters that targeted them while they were working in Spain. In December, the pair were jailed for six year and eight months.
According to a letter released under Freedom of Information legislation, Mr Reid said he wanted to talk to young people who were heading off to Ibiza, to warn them "about the potential dangers and consequences of being caught up in any such activity."
It is thought Mr Reid met with Mr MacAskill to request support for the campaign, but his wishes were denied. The Home Office, which must approve any campaign held in a Scottish airport, also denied the request.
An airport spokesman said: "It is important that any activities are properly targeted, organised and structured."
Melissa Reid herself spoke this month, from prison, about the dangers to would-be drugs smugglers.
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