The family of Melissa Reid have said she will plead guilty to smuggling cocaine worth €1.7 million out of Peru to avoid a harsher prison sentence. 

William Reid, whose 20-year-old daughter is currently awaiting trial in the notorious Virgen de Fatima prison in Peru's capital Lima, said her guilty plea was part of "plea bargaining negotiations".

In an interview televised this morning on ITV's Daybreak, he explained: "You can spend a lengthy pre-trial period in detention otherwise. Not all of the people who know most about this case are going to be questioned."

Melissa Reid's parents William and Debbie pictured during an interview with ITV

Melissa Reid, from Glasgow, was stopped along with Michaella McCollum, 20, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone, with 24lb (11kg) of cocaine hidden in food packets in their luggage while trying to board a flight to Spain last month.

Reid and McCollum have until now claimed they were forced to carry the drugs by an armed gang who threatened them and their family.

Watch the interview below: