Portsmouth councillor George Madgwick charged with 35 offences, including 12 counts of rape

George Madgwick, a councillor in Portsmouth who leads the Reform UK group on the city council, has been charged with 35 offences, including 12 counts of rape, according to The Guardian. A Reform UK spokesperson said he has been suspended from the party with immediate effect.

Madgwick is 37. Reports published on 3 November list 35 offences in total, including 12 counts of rape, and ITV News and The Independent both report the 35-offence total. The other charges include eight counts of actual bodily harm, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault by penetration, two counts of controlling and coercive behaviour, and one count of stalking. There are also charges relating to indecent images of children, one count of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, and one count of false imprisonment.

The Crown Prosecution Service, which decides whether to bring charges in England and Wales, said the charges followed a police investigation into allegations involving four complainants. All four were aged 16 or 17 at the time. The alleged offences took place in Portsmouth and Wales between 2008 and 2021.

Being charged means Madgwick has been formally accused of the offences. The allegations have not been tested in court.

Madgwick has also been in the local news this year for a different reason. He was linked to protests in Portsmouth connected to the arrival of asylum seekers on small boats, which are crossings of the English Channel by people seeking protection in the UK. In one incident, protesters gathered outside a Portsmouth hotel after mistaking Pakistan's under-19s cricket team for asylum seekers. According to The Guardian, Madgwick liaised with hotel staff and persuaded the protesters to leave.

Madgwick is scheduled to appear at Portsmouth magistrates court on 25 November. Magistrates courts handle the early stages of criminal cases.