Greeted by his relieved wife, Edinburgh holidaymaker Billy touched down on Glasgow Airport this evening
THE Scots dad who was facing jail in Dubai for handling a fake £20 note has landed safely back on home soil.
Greeted by his wife Monique, 42, Edinburgh holidaymaker Billy Barclay touched down on Glasgow Airport this evening.
And after stepping off the flight Billy vowed never to return.
Billy said: “I’m never going back to Dubai. I couldn’t return after how I was treated.
“What they have done to me is horrendous. It should never have happened. I was worried I’d be spending up to a year in prison.
“The worst part was being away from my family. I didn’t know they were safe.”
The plasterer, who was nicked on September 15, said he was huckled away from his wife and kids at the city’s airport as he arrived on holiday.
Cops grilled him over a fake note he tried to exchange on a visit last year and took his passport.
Billy Barclay and family, before the ordeal
The distressed dad was bailed - but not before cops had warned him he could face up to a year in jail in the United Arab Emirates, a £1,000 fine and deportation back to the UK.
Wife Monique said: "It’s been torture. I’m just so glad to get him home.”
The dad of two hailed activist Radha Stirling of charity Detained in Dubai for fighting his corner - but he slammed UK authorities’ lack of help.
He said: “If it wasn’t for Radha I’d have been in prison six to seven months. The Embassy weren’t helpful. They told us to stay away from the press.”
We told how Billy was quizzed over the forged note he tried to exchange at the Al Hamra Mall in nearby emirate Ras Al Khaimah during a break last year.
Cops told him he wouldn’t be charged and was free to return.
But when he arrived for a holiday in Dubai last month with Monique and kids Madison, nine, and Billy Jr, seven, the dad was flagged up at border control — and shackled in a cell.
Comments