Kevin Reid

Kevin Reid, son of former Labour cabinet minister John Reid was caught up in a lobbying scandal in 1999, surrounding improper access to ministers in the first Scottish Executive. Reid was caught on film boasting about his links to the Scottish Labour hierarchy as a means of winning a business contract for his employer, Beattie Media.

Reid was recorded as saying:

Three or four of [the Scottish Executive’s] special advisers are close personal friends of mine ... I worked for Jack [McConnell] and for Wendy [Alexander] and for Henry [McLeish] and for Donald [Dewar] on a one-to-one basis [in] the Labour Party media monitoring [team] ... I know the Secretary of State very well because he’s my father, so I know him … But I’m not going to promise you access to people because of who I am and who I know. Certainly as you know, in the business of politics, you have a relationship, it makes things easier. (Observer transcript 1999: 6)