Andrew Tate denied bail at hearing and will remain in prison

Andrew Tate will remain in prison after his request for bail has been denied.

The controversial influencer was detained alongside his brother Tristan in Pipera, at the northern edge of Bucharest, Romania, on 29 December and has been held in prison ever since.

Following today's decision, a spokesperson for Tate told the Mirror: "Unfortunately, the Romanian judicial system denied Andrew Tate’s request for bail today. We are disappointed in this outcome as we had high hopes to see Andrew reunited with his family. His legal team will be appealing this decision within the 48hr time frame."

The former Big Brother contestant and kickboxer was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to exploit women.

His detention has previously been extended by 30 days three times, with his appeals rejected.

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The 36-year-old is known for his misogynistic views - previously stating that women 'bear responsibility' for rape - and spreading conspiracy theories, but he has amassed millions of followers on social media.

His lawyer previously claimed that he plays a 'character' for 'entertainment' purposes.

Asked whether the divisive persona seen on the internet is a character, Tina Glandian said on Times Radio: "Yes and it's not even just in my view – there's certainly interviews I've seen where Andrew himself has said, 'You know I say a lot of things, it's satire.'

"I've heard a lot of silly things, I've heard him talk about whether eggs are real or the fact that he's existed for 5,000 years because you know there's a ninja warrior inside of him.

"There's lots of things I think he says as entertainment. It's his public persona and those things are not all intended to be taken seriously."

On the allegations he faces in Romania, Glandian added: "There is no evidence in the file of human trafficking.

"There's no evidence of force or coercion, or forced transport, or forced labour, or any sort of deprivation of women's liberty, which is at the heart of any sort of human trafficking charge.

"They have been investigated for a very long time and they have not been charged."

She added: "We don't prosecute rap artists because they say things about... criminal activity."

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Tate - who has lived in Romania since 2017 - was previously banned from various social media platforms for expressing misogynistic views and hate speech.

He has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged their case is a 'political' conspiracy designed to silence him.

The Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said in a statement after the December arrests that it had identified six victims in the human trafficking case who were subjected to 'acts of physical violence and mental coercion' and were sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group.

The agency said victims were lured with pretences of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics while being coerced into engaging in pornographic acts for the financial gain of the crime group.

In January, Romanian authorities descended on a compound linked with the Tate brothers and towed away a fleet of luxury cars that included a Rolls-Royce, a Ferrari and a Porsche.

They seized assets worth an estimated £3.24 million.

Prosecutors have said that if they can prove the cars' owners gained money through illicit activities such as human trafficking, the assets would be used to cover the expenses of the investigation and to compensate victims.

Tate also unsuccessfully appealed against the asset seizure.