The One Direction star passed away in a shock accident last year

Liam Payne’s close friend has revealed that the late singer’s father tried to have him ‘sectioned’ last year, following an overdose in the month preceding his death.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Roger Nores, a close friend of the One Direction star, claimed that Liam’s father, Geoff, had the singer ‘sectioned’ last May after a drug overdose.

He said: “Originally, they tried to have him sectioned for 90 days. That ended up getting cut down to 30 days. But Liam talked his way out after just three.”

Following Liam’s release, Roger said that he set Liam up with a team of medical professionals, in an attempt to help the singer in his struggle with addiction.

“He knew he needed help,” he added. “He did four months sober. Liam then began to go to the gym every day. He was really looking after himself.”

Roger continued: “And it wasn’t easy. He required 24-hour attention. Anyone who’s looked after an addict knows it isn’t that straightforward. It was draining, but I wanted to do it – that’s what friends are for. After four months, I truly believed he had turned a corner.”

The lawsuits following Liam’s death

Following Liam’s death, at age 31, on 16 October last year, five people, including Roger, were charged in Argentina in connection with his death, three with manslaughter and two with supplying cocaine.

Argentinian prosecutors accused Roger of manslaughter, claiming he “abandoned” Liam and failed in his duty of care responsibilities.

In a defamation lawsuit filed in the US last month, Roger named Geoff Payne, alleging that sworn declarations given to Argentinian officials were “false, contained material omissions, and many parts were not based on personal knowledge”.

The contested statements from the initial lawsuit include allegations that Roger and Liam’s girlfriend Kate Cassidy had the responsibility to care for him “due to his addictions”.

However, Roger insists that they had a “dear mutual friendship” but that he “never had a legal duty of care” towards Liam.

“We were friends and that was all I wanted to be,” he told the Daily Mail.

The moment Kate Cassidy heard about his death

Kate Cassidy recently shared details of the moment she heard about Liam’s death in an interview with The Sun.

“I feel blessed that I didn’t find out over social media because I just couldn’t even imagine that,” she said. “I was in our home with our dog, scrolling TikTok and one of Liam’s friends called me.”

“I didn’t believe it at first,” she added. “I thought it was just a rumour. Or something that somebody made up just to get views. Then instantly I just had a bad feeling in my gut. I was like, ‘Why would somebody make this up? Is this true?'”

© Instagram
Kate Cassidy was Liam Payne’s girlfriend at the time of his death

She continued: “And I feel like I just completely blacked out. When I officially found the news out to be true, I felt numb. I tried to call him. I called pretty much everybody.”

Kate also explained why she had left Argentina, denying rumours of a row or breakup and stating that she had rushed back to take care of their rescue dog, Nala.

She said: “I had a responsibility, we had a responsibility. We had our dog and obviously I never, ever thought this event would occur. It was a tragic accident and no, I never did think [he might die young]. But you know, we did have our own separate lives – this wasn’t the first time we had travelled separately.”