Julian Assange was finally quizzed yesterday over claims that he raped a woman – but Swedish prosecutors were barred from asking him questions.

In farcical scenes, investigators travelled to Ecuador’s London embassy where the WikiLeaks founder has been holed up since jumping bail in 2012.

But Sweden’s assistant prosecutor Ingrid Isgren and police inspector Cecilia Redell were only allowed to listen as the fugitive was asked pre-prepared questions by an Ecuadorian government representative.

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Julian Assange was finally quizzed yesterday over claims that he raped a woman – but Swedish prosecutors were barred from asking him questions

It came just 24 hours after Assange’s celebrity friend, former Baywatch star and Playboy model Pamela Anderson, 49, was seen delivering snacks to his hideout.

The interview will influence the decision over whether the Swedish inquiry will continue. It is not clear whether Assange consented to a DNA sample being taken.

The extraordinary situation could help break the deadlock over Britain’s most expensive and unwelcome house guest.

The Australian hacker has been living in a cramped room in the diplomatic mission in Knightsbridge, central London, since June 19, 2012, after claiming asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden to face the claims. Meanwhile the taxpayer-funded bill for police posted outside the building around the clock topped £12.5million.

But even after that vigil ended last year, Assange remained inside – saying he fears American authorities would try to extradite him to the US to be quizzed for leaking secret military documents.

Assange is accused of raping a woman, named in legal papers as SW, at her home in August 2010. He denies the claims, which relate to a visit he made to Stockholm in August 2010 to give a lecture, and believes they are politically-motivated after WikiLeaks released covert files on the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Swedish prosecutor Ingrid Isgren arrives at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where Mr Assange will be quizzed over rape allegations

The Swedish prosecutor and other officials will be present when Mr Assange is quizzed inside the embassy in Knightsbridge

Last night Wikileaks released a statement saying Assange had ‘co-operated fully’ after Sweden took his statement on the allegations ‘for the first time ever’. But in an odd agreement thrashed out with Ecuador, the Swedes were not allowed to question the rape suspect directly. Instead questions were submitted in Spanish and put to him by an Ecuadorean prosecutor. No follow-up questions were allowed.

Results of the interview will be sent from Ecuador to the Swedish prosecutors in a written statement. After this report, the prosecutors will take a view on the continuation of the investigation.

Ecuador’s UK ambassador Carlos Ortiz was in the embassy during the interview, which lasted nearly four hours, as well as Assange’s lawyers. But frustration is mounting at how long the stand-off has lasted. A Whitehall source said: ‘This has already cost the UK a huge amount, has been dragging on for years and he is facing very serious charges. This impasse has got to end.’

It came just 24 hours after Assange’s celebrity friend, former Baywatch star and Playboy model Pamela Anderson, 49, was seen delivering snacks to his hideout

As prosecutors arrived at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, supporters of Mr Assange also gathered

Many of his supporters tied banners to the fence of the building calling for the WikiLeaks founder to be freed

Police officers outside the Ecuadorian embassy in London where Swedish authorites are interviewing Mr Assange

And Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: ‘The law is the law and Assange has got to go through due process but the fact is that sheltering Assange has incurred huge costs to the UK.’

After the interview, a statement from the Swedish prosecutors said the probe was ‘subject to confidentiality’. But Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny, leading the inquiry, said: ‘I welcome the fact that the investigation can now move forward via an interview.’ Guillaume Long, Ecuador’s foreign minister, said: ‘This is something that Ecuador has been inviting the Swedish prosecutors to do ever since we granted asylum to Mr Assange in 2012. There was no need for the Swedish authorities to delay for over 1,000 days.’

A WikiLeaks statement said: ‘For the first time since August 2010, Mr Assange was finally able to give his statement in relation to this allegation. He has done so in part to ensure the Swedish authorities have no further excuse not to discontinue their preliminary investigation.’

Assange denies the allegations but if convicted, he could face up to six years in jail. A European Arrest Warrant for him remains in place and can be enforced as soon as he steps out on to the street.