I was Liam Payne's close friend and he was so ill in ways he couldn't beat

Luke Benson, who was seen as part of the 1D singer’s support network, said Liam, who shot to fame on ITV The X Factor, was 'too trusting'.

Liam Payne's close friend has said the "misguided" star was "so ill in ways he couldn't beat". Luke Benson, who was seen as part of the 1D singer’s support network, said Liam, who shot to fame on ITV The X Factor, was 'too trusting'.

Luke described his pal as “so ill in ways he couldn’t beat”. He wrote: “I can’t believe it. Thank you for the best times. Some of us were lucky enough to see the best version of you. I’m so sorry. You didn’t choose this side of fame.

"Please no one comment on or guess what happened without knowing. Be kind." Luke said: “He was so kind. But he was so ill in ways he couldn’t beat, leading to some things he shouldn’t have done. Misguided and too trusting.

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"Remember he was a son, dad and friend to many.” Liam's death came after he took to YouTube last year, in a interview with Diary of a CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett, to hold his hands up for his mistakes and thank those who had stood by him.

The star said: “I’ve definitely made a lot of mistakes and out of five of us somebody had to and unfortunately that landed on me. I would like to say thank you to the rest of the boys for standing by me because not once did anybody ever say anything negative."

Payne, 31, fell to his death from a third-floor balcony into an internal courtyard. Police pronounced Payne dead at scene, saying he had suffered a “very serious injury” to the base of the skull. “There was no possibility of resuscitation,” said Alberto Crescenti, head of Buenos Aires emergency services.

On Wednesday evening, fans had gathered outside as forensic science investigators and dozens of police arrived at the scene. The supporters stood, for most of the evening, in silence until the body was removed in a fire truck.