Reform councillor charged with 35 offences including 12 counts of rape

A Reform UK councillor who led protests against migrant landings in Portsmouth has been charged with 12 counts of rape against teenagers.

George Madgwick, 37, has been suspended from Reform UK after being charged with 35 offences, including two counts of sexual assault, two counts of making and one count of distributing indecent images of a child.

The charges follow a Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary investigation into allegations from four accusers, who were aged between 16 and 17 at the time.

Mr Madgwick will appear at Portsmouth Magistrates Court on Wednesday November 25 to face the allegations police said took place between 2008 and 2021.

A Reform UK spokesman said: ‘Cllr Madgwick has been suspended from Reform UK with immediate effect’.

A spokesperson from the Crown Prosecution Service 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.

‘We remind all concerned 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 anyway prejudice these proceedings.’

Madgwick, who was an active campaigner on social media, has boasted of knocking thousands of doors for Reform UK and promoting protests against Wetherspoons during a row over poppies.

He also helped organise protests against migrant landings in Gosport being pictured with Zia Yusuf in the aftermath.