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Prince Andrew’s friend Ghislaine Maxwell has been accused of being a foreign intelligence asset currently living in an Israeli safe house.

It is claimed “powerful friends” are protecting the British socialite alleged to have been Jeffery Epstein’s madam.

The FBI want to investigate her friendship with the late paedophile but Maxwell, 58, appears to have vanished.

The daughter of shamed pub­­lisher Robert Maxwell holds information on the rich and famous and has long been rumoured to have acted with spy agencies.

A source made the “safe house” and “in­­­tel­­­­ligence asset” allegations to the New York Post.

(Image: Getty)

They come as Virginia Giuffre, who claims the Duke of York had under-age sex with her, is set to return to court. She has vowed to “take down the 1%” who think they are above the law and make 2020 “a year to be remembered”. Andrew has strenously denied all the claims.

Maxwell has been accused in several lawsuits of procuring underage girls for Epstein to traffick among his wealthy and powerful friends. She has also strenously denied any wrongdoing. But since the accusations emerged in 2015 she has become a recluse, shunning the parties she was once a staple of.

And, after Epstein’s August jail suicide, sources close to her claim she being protected.

The New York Post source said: “She and Jeffrey were assets of sorts for multiple foreign governments.

“They would trade information about the powerful people in his net. She is not in the US, she moves around. She is sometimes in the UK but most often in other countries, such as Israel, where powerful contacts have provided her with safe houses and protection.”

We previously revealed how Epstein kept meticulous diaries on the power-ful men who enjoyed his hospitality.

He also secretly filmed guests staying with him.

Maxwell’s Czech-born father, found floating in the Atlantic after falling from his yacht the Lady Ghislaine, had links to MI6, the KGB and Israel’s Mossad.