'He brought so much joy': Rita Ora pays tribute to friend Liam Payne at MTV awards

Rita Ora was one of a number of stars who paid tribute to Liam Payne at the MTV EMAs, as ITV News' Olivia Guthrie reports

Rita Ora has remembered former One Direction singer Liam Payne with a tearful tribute at the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMAs).

Ora, who was hosting the event, paid tribute to her friend, saying the singer "was a big part of the MTV world and my world".

“Liam Payne was one of the kindest people that I knew. He had the biggest heart and was always the first person to offer help in any way that he could," she said.

“He brought so much joy to every room he walked into and he left such a mark on the world.”

Ora was friends with Payne and had collaborated with the singer on the song For You, which featured on the Fifty Shades Freed soundtrack.

The singer died at the age of 31 after falling from a third-floor balcony of the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last month.

An image of Payne was then shown on screens in the arena, while fans were visibly emotional within the new Co-op Arena.

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Three people were arrested and charged in connection with Payne's death on Friday, with prosecutors ruling out "self-harm" as a cause.

Prosecutors said one of the accused was accompanying the singer on a daily basis in Argentina while another was an employee at the hotel where Payne was staying. The third person allegedly supplied drugs.

Nine raids have also been ordered on properties in Buenos Aires and the investigation continues with some of Payne’s devices still being analysed.

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