George Madgwick speaks out after being charged with 35 offences
He faces charges including rape, sexual assault, stalking and controlling behaviour.
George Madgwick has said he is “shocked and dismayed” after being charged with 35 offences, including twelve counts of rape.
The 37-year-old Portsmouth and Hampshire Reform UK councillor, from Anchorage Park, Portsmouth, was charged today by officers from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Operation Amberstone team.
It comes after Hampshire Police launched an investigation in July 2025 after receiving a report of a sexual offence. This led to an arrest in January 2026, six days afterwards he stepped down as the Portsmouth Reform UK leader.
The allegations relate to four victims, who were aged between 16 and 17 at the time. The alleged offences took place between 2008 and 2021 in Portsmouth and Wales.
The 35 charges include 12 counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault by penetration, two counts of making indecent images of a child and one count of distributing indecent images of a child.
He has also been charged with eight counts of actual bodily harm, two counts of controlling and coercive behaviour, one count of stalking, one count of making threats to kill, one count of false imprisonment, one count of criminal damage, one count of theft and one count of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child.
Madgwick is due to appear at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, 25 November 2026.
In a social media post, he said: “I am shocked and dismayed at the charges brought against me. Whilst the charges are extremely serious, I will say unequivocally that I am innocent of the allegations against me.
“Due process must take its course and the legal process must be followed without hindrance.
“I considered it responsible to resign as Reform UK leader in Hampshire Council and I will continue as an independent, on Hampshire & Portsmouth, until I’m cleared.
“I will not make any further statement now, or in the future, on this in any capacity. I will deactivate my social media shortly until due process has concluded.”
Reform UK said he had been suspended “with immediate effect”.
He previously led the Reform UK group on Portsmouth City Council, where he has been a councillor since 2021, initially representing the Portsmouth Independent Party before defecting to Reform in July 2025.
He was elected to lead Reform UK’s group on Hampshire County Council at the last local elections and has also worked as a senior campaign manager for the party.
A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said it had 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.”
Given Madgwick’s prominent standing within Reform UK, Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin demanded that party leader Nigel Farage clarify what he knew about the investigation.
Supporting her statement, Portsmouth South MP Steven Morgan stated, “These allegations are extremely serious and make for deeply distressing reading,” while offering his thoughts to the victims.