Reform UK Hampshire leader charged with 35 offences

George Madgwick, the Reform UK leader on Hampshire County Council, has been charged with 35 offences, including 12 counts of rape, in a case involving four complainants who were aged 16 or 17 at the time of the alleged offences. The Crown Prosecution Service said the alleged offences took place in Portsmouth and Wales between 2008 and 2021. The charges include two counts of assault by penetration, two sexual-assault charges, controlling or coercive behaviour, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and making indecent images of a child.

Madgwick also faces one charge each of distributing an indecent image of a child, causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, stalking, making threats to kill, false imprisonment, theft and criminal damage. He is due to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on 25 November. The CPS said prosecutors had concluded there was sufficient evidence and that bringing the case was in the public interest.

It stressed that criminal proceedings were active and that Madgwick had the right to a fair trial, warning against commentary or the sharing of information that could prejudice the case. Madgwick said on social media that he was “shocked and dismayed” by the charges and “unequivocally” denied the allegations. He said due process should be followed and that he would make no further statement.

The BBC reported that he would remain a councillor on both Hampshire County Council and Portsmouth City Council as an independent. Reform UK said Madgwick had been suspended from the party with immediate effect. Madgwick said he had resigned as leader of the Reform group on Hampshire County Council and would continue as an independent until he was cleared.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said its investigation began on 24 July 2025 after a report of a sexual offence. Police first arrested Madgwick on 6 January 2026, and the CPS charged him on Tuesday. The county council said that being charged did not disqualify him from office and declined further comment because proceedings were under way.

Madgwick represents North East Havant on the county council and Paulsgrove on Portsmouth City Council. He entered politics as an independent councillor in Portsmouth in 2021, joined Reform UK in 2025 and became a Hampshire councillor the following year. He later led the party’s county council group.

He had also been a prominent local voice during protests connected with asylum seekers arriving by small boats. The Guardian reported that he appeared at demonstrations in Portsmouth and recently helped mediate when protesters mistakenly identified Pakistan’s under-19 cricket team as asylum seekers. Those political activities are separate from the criminal allegations, which have not been tested in court.