A Reform UK councillor has been charged with 12 counts of rape, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has said.

George Madgwick, the leader of the party on Hampshire county council, has been charged with a total of 35 offences, including two counts of sexual assault, two counts of assault by penetration, two counts of making and one count of distributing indecent images of a child.

The 37-year-old will appear at Portsmouth magistrates court on 25 November. A Reform spokesperson said he had been suspended from the party with immediate effect.

A CPS spokesperson 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.…