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Reform UK councillor charged with 35 offences including rape

Summarised from 10 outlets · 13 reports · Updated 3 Nov, 15:32 · Archive

George Madgwick, a Reform UK councillor on Hampshire County Council, has been charged with 35 offences including 12 counts of rape.

George Madgwick, 37, the leader of Reform UK on Hampshire County Council, has been charged with 35 offences by the Crown Prosecution Service. The charges include 12 counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault by penetration, two counts of making indecent images of children, and one count of distributing an indecent image of a child.

Madgwick also faces charges of causing or inciting sexual exploitation of a child, eight counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, two counts of controlling or coercive behaviour, one count of stalking, one count of making threats to kill, one count of false imprisonment, one count of theft and one count of criminal damage.

The allegations relate to four victims who were aged 16 and 17 at the time the offences are alleged to have occurred. Police say the crimes took place between 2008 and 2021 in Portsmouth and Wales. An investigation was launched by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary on 24 July 2025 after officers received a report of a sexual offence. Madgwick was arrested at an address in Wandsworth, London on 6 January 2026.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesperson said: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute George Madgwick for serious sexual offences, including multiple counts of rape. He has also been charged with making a threat to kill, false imprisonment and stalking. Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence and that it is in the public interest to bring the case to court.'

The CPS added that 'proceedings against the defendant are now active and that he has the right to a fair trial. There should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.'

Madgwick represents North East Havant on Hampshire County Council and Paulsgrove on Portsmouth City Council, having been first elected in 2021. Reform UK suspended him from the party 'with immediate effect' following the charges.

Madgwick has been bailed to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates' Court on Wednesday 25 November 2026.

Reform UK councillor charged with 35 offences including rape
Image: HuffPost UK

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How it is being reported

In this story: George Madgwick · Reform UK · Hampshire County Council · Crown Prosecution Service · Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary · Portsmouth · Wales

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