TOWING FORD TRANSIT WHICH WONT START?

I have a 2001 2 litre turbo diesel van, wont start just spinning,i admit was low on fuel and hoping just air block,am changing diesel filter as needs doing,however have been told it is risky to tow the newer models to start them up as can sometimes blow the head,anyone any knowledge about this,if so also any ideas what is wrong with the van, sorry a bit vague, van was running A1 until yesterday, BEV