Reform UK councillor George Madgwick charged with 35 offences including 12 counts of rape
Reform UK has suspended councillor George Madgwick after he was charged with 35 offences, including 12 counts of rape, against four people aged 16 or 17 at the time.
How it was covered
- ITV was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on the charges, Madgwick's Reform roles and the party's vetting record.
- Channel 5, BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4 and Sky News: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- BBC News and GB News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
George Madgwick, a Reform UK councillor, has been charged with 35 offences including 12 counts of rape. He is leader of the Reform group on Hampshire County Council and also a councillor on Portsmouth City Council.
The allegations involve four people who were 16 or 17 at the time of the alleged offences, ITV reported. The charges are alleged to have spanned 13 years. They include two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault by penetration, distributing and making indecent images of a child, false imprisonment and stalking.
The ITV News at Ten bulletin also listed actual bodily harm and making threats to kill among the offences. ITV reported that Madgwick was first arrested in January this year, a few months before he was elected to Hampshire County Council for Reform.
Madgwick travelled the country training prospective candidates and councillors for the party, ITV reported. He also appeared in an ITV documentary, Undercover: A Year in Reform, three weeks ago, in which he admitted supporting the anti-immigrant group the Portsmouth Patriots. ITV's evening bulletin reported that he later called the documentary a disgusting invasion of his privacy.
Reform UK has suspended him with immediate effect. ITV News at Ten reported that the party has been facing a number of crises in recent months. ITV News at Ten reported that Madgwick says he is shocked by the allegations and is innocent of all of them.
He is due to appear at a court in Portsmouth on 25 November.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| A Reform UK councillor was charged with 35 offences, including 12 counts of rape, with allegations relating to four victims aged 16 to 17 at the time. | |
| Reform UK suspended councillor Madgwick with immediate effect. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
ITV1 led both its evening and late bulletins with the charges against George Madgwick, stressing their number and severity. Its coverage tied the case to his senior role in Reform's local government operation, his appearance in an ITV undercover documentary and the party's vetting record, and it added his denial in the late bulletin.
- “these are very serious charges, aren't they?”
- “The party has now suspended him with immediate effect.”
- “says he's shocked by the allegations and that he's innocent of all of them.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.