Dad Geoff Payne greets fans as Cheryl pays tribute

Liam Payne’s father has viewed tributes outside the hotel where his son died, as the star’s former partner Cheryl says her son Bear has to “face the reality of never seeing his father again”.

Payne, 31, died on Wednesday when he fell from the balcony of the third-floor hotel room where he had been staying in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

In Argentina, Geoff Payne was followed by a scrum of photographers as he visited the hotel, prompting fans to shout at the press and attempt to block the building’s entrance to stop them entering.

Mr Payne travelled to Buenos Aires after his son’s death and the journey from his hotel to the Casa Sur hotel was broadcast on Argentine television, despite family requests for privacy.

Girls Aloud singer Cheryl, who was in a relationship with Payne from 2016 to 2018, also criticised “abhorrent” media coverage following his death.

Posting on Instagram, Cheryl said: “As I try to navigate this earth shattering event, and work through my own grief at this indescribably painful time, I’d like to kindly remind everyone that we have lost a human being.”

Along with her statement Cheryl shared a black and white image of Payne with their son Bear and a broken heart emoji.

Payne’s sister, Ruth Gibbins, described him as her “best friend” in an emotional Instagram post on Saturday, in which she vowed the family will “take care of Bear”.

“My brain is struggling to catch up with what’s happening and I don’t understand where you’ve gone,” she added.

Cheryl also said she was troubled her seven-year-old son could access “abhorrent reports and media exploitation” and she cannot protect him from it in the future.

“What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days,” she added.

“I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving, other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces.

“Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them.”

Ending her statement, the 41-year-old urged people to give Payne “the little dignity he has left in the wake of his death to rest in some peace at last”.

The tribute came as Geoff Payne paused to read tributes to his son outside the Casa Sur hotel and say thank you to the gathered fans.

When he arrived, fans at the site created a barrier between him and the cameras, with some telling the BBC afterwards that they wanted to make sure he had space.

Bianca Gallorini, who helped organise the makeshift barrier, said fans wanted to give Mr Payne “a moment” to “express his feelings and see how much we love Liam”.

Mr Payne had earlier visited the morgue in Buenos Aires to officially identify his son, so that arrangements can be made for his body to be flown back to the UK.

A federal prosecutor told the BBC that Payne’s body has been “released”, meaning no further tests were being carried out and that identification could take place. An investigation into his death continues.

It is not yet known when Payne’s body will be repatriated to the UK.

Fans also gathered in the singer’s home city of Wolverhampton for a vigil on Friday evening.

Simon Cowell, who put the group together on The X Factor in 2010, earlier paid his own tribute to Payne, saying he is “heartbroken” and feels “empty” following the singer’s death.

Cowell remembered Payne as “kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful [and] talented”.

In a post on Instagram, Cowell added: “And I want you to know how much love and respect I have for you. Every tear I have shed is a memory of you.”

Payne’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy has also paid tribute to the star who she called “my angel”, adding she was “at a complete loss”.

“You are everything,” she said in a statement.

“I want you to know I loved you unconditionally and completely. I will continue to love you for the rest of my life.”

In Cowell’s statement, he also recalled Payne’s first X Factor audition in 2008, at the age of 14, when Cowell told the budding singer he was not ready and to come back in two years.

“A lot of people would have given up. You didn’t. You came back and within months the whole world would know Liam.

“And you never forgot the fans. I watched you spending so much time with people who had wanted to meet you. You really cared.”

Cowell eventually signed One Direction to his label and masterminded their global success before they split in 2016.

The music mogul also revealed that Payne had visited him last year “just to sit and talk”, adding that they “reminisced about all of the fun times we had together”.

Also on Friday, Payne’s bandmate Niall Horan posted a tribute, saying he was “absolutely devastated” by the “passing of his amazing friend”.

Singer Katie Waissel, a contestant alongside One Direction in 2010’s X Factor series, called the music industry “very manipulative, coercive and deconstructive”, saying “it sucks the soul out of people”.

Speaking to Stephen Nolan on BBC Radio 5 Live, Waissal, who has long campaigned for better support for those who appear on TV, criticised the amount given to those who appear on shows such as X Factor.

Similarly, US singer Bruce Springsteen told the Daily Telegraph that the industry “puts enormous pressures on young people”, adding that they do not have “the inner self yet to be able to protect themselves from a lot of the things that come with success and fame”.

Springsteen said he understands this “very well” from his own experience, having done his “own wrestling with different things”.