Reform UK councillor George Madgwick charged with 35 sexual offences

Reform UK’s Hampshire leader, 37‑year‑old councillor George Madgwick, has been charged with 35 offences, including 12 counts of rape, and will appear at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on 25 November. The Crown Prosecution Service says the alleged crimes were committed between 2008 and 2021 in Portsmouth and Wales and involved four victims who were 16 or 17 at the time.

The police investigation began on 24 July 2025 after a sexual‑offence report was received. Madgwick was first arrested on 6 January 2026 and remained in custody until he was formally charged on Tuesday. Reform UK suspended him with immediate effect, and he has announced he will sit as an independent councillor on both Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council while the case proceeds.

Madgwick faces a long list of charges: 12 rapes, two assaults by penetration, two sexual assaults, two counts of making indecent images of a child, two of controlling or coercive behaviour, eight of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, plus single counts of sexual exploitation of a child, distributing an indecent image, stalking, making threats to kill, false imprisonment, theft and criminal damage. He denied any wrongdoing in a social‑media statement, calling the allegations “extremely serious” but insisting he is innocent and that due process must be allowed to run its course. The CPS said there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and warned against any reporting that could prejudice the trial.

The case will now move through the criminal justice system, with Madgwick’s next hearing set for late November. If convicted, he could face lengthy prison terms and be removed from his elected posts. Reform UK has not commented further, noting that a criminal charge does not automatically disqualify a councillor. The trial will test the party’s handling of serious allegations and may influence public confidence in local representatives.