Former Coronation Street actor Phil Middlemiss has spoken about the ‘extraordinary’ moment he became one of the most wanted people in the world after being placed on an Interpol red notice. The 58-year-old, best known for playing bookie Des Barnes on the ITV soap from 1990 to 1998, found himself embroiled in a global bribery scandal involving aircraft manufacturer Airbus.
Middlemiss, who has always denied any wrongdoing and was cleared by UK investigators, told Good Morning Britain that his life has been ‘devastated’ by the ordeal. The scandal saw Airbus pay out more than £3 billion after being accused of bribing public officials across multiple countries. Last year, the company paid £830 million to end a UK investigation into the corruption offences, with parallel settlements in France and the US.
The actor explained that he accepted an offer from Airbus to assist with the sale of aircraft to Ghana while working in Africa. Six years later, he was approached by the UK's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) who were investigating the company. Despite no charges being brought against him, Middlemiss says he faced losing his house and car, describing it as a ‘very stressful situation’.
Middlemiss also revealed that a red notice was issued in Ghana, listing him as one of the ‘world’s worst’ offenders. He joked that the notice included his alias as ‘Des Barnes’, saying: ‘I am a bit of an idiot but even I could come up with a better alias than Des Barnes.’ He added that he was so convinced the notice was fake that he travelled to the airport expecting to be detained, but went straight through without issue.
