Washington, April 5

Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz\'s private life has come under renewed scrutiny amid fresh allegations that his phone number was listed in contacts kept by a Washington madam who provided prostitutes to politicians.

The claim added a fresh twist to recent allegations that Cruz cheated on his wife Heidi by keeping five mistresses, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

Cruz, who had previously dismissed the allegations as â€œcomplete garbage and liesâ€ spread by opponent and party front-runner Donald Trumpâ€™s supporters, on Monday denied having extra-marital affairs.

In a town hall interview with Fox Newsâ€™ Megyn Kelly, he said, â€œI have always been faithful to my wife.â€

The National Enquirer magazine, which published the initial allegations, was about to give the rumours fresh impetus by reporting in its next edition that Cruzâ€™s number appeared in the contacts list of the late Deborah Palfrey, who ran an escort agency in Washington offering prostitutes to wealthy clients for $300 an hour.

Palfrey hanged herself in 2008 before she could serve a 55-year jail sentence imposed after a court convicted her of charges that included racketeering and money laundering.

Montgomery Sibley, her former lawyer, has appealed to the US Supreme Court for permission to publish the contents of the so-called â€œblack bookâ€ -- said to contain 15,000 pages of phone records.

Investigators told the National Enquirer that the numbers referred to by Sibley were probably those of Cruz\'s, reported RadarOnline website, which said it had seen a copy of the magazineâ€™s forthcoming report, due to be published on Wednesday.

â€œIf Montgomery Sibley has what he says he has, it has to be Cruz,â€ said Wayne Madsen, who belonged to a team of reporters who investigated Palfreyâ€™s business for Hustler, a monthly pornographic magazine.

Even if Cruzâ€™s name were in the contacts book, it would not necessarily invalidate his denial of marital infidelity, as the numbers cover the period 1996 to 2006 -- which includes a timespan before he married his wife in 2001. It is not clear when his name is said to have featured.

Ted Cruz\\\'s phone number \\\'appeared in madam\\\'s phone list\\\'