Ms Maxwell has been in custody since her arrest in July last year after Judge Alison Nathan repeatedly denied requests for bail.

Previous hearings have heard that guards repeatedly flashed light into the 59-year-old’s cell, which her lawyers said may have led to her suffering a black eye. She has also alleged that there have been maggots in her food and a rat in her cell.

The court was previously told by Ms Maxwell’s defence counsel that “she has grown increasingly reluctant to report information to the guards for fear of retaliation, discipline and punitive chores”.

Last night, Mr Maxwell said: “I’m very pleased to be in New York and I’m very pleased to have attended today in court in person together with Isabel in support of our sister Ghislaine,” he said. 

“On a personal note it gave me a tremendous sense of relief to be close to her, to be able to actually see her in the flesh, even to be able to speak with her, courtesy of the US Marshals who allowed us to talk to her.