Friends and family of Liam Payne, including his One Direction bandmates, have gathered to say goodbye at his funeral.

Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Niall Horan and Zayn Malik were among the family and friends attending the private ceremony.

Simon Cowell, who put the band together on The X Factor, Payne‘s girlfriend Kate Cassidy, and former partner Cheryl were also there.

The 31-year-old died after he fell from a third-floor balcony at the Casa Sur Hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 16 October.

Fans from around the world have held their own vigils over the past few weeks, and tributes have been left today in his hometown, Wolverhampton.

Payne’s dark blue coffin, topped with white roses, arrived for the service on a horse-drawn carriage, bearing flowers reading “son” and “daddy” – for his son, Bear, with Cheryl.

Her Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh were also among those at the service, along with TV and radio presenters including James Corden, Marvin and Rochelle Humes, Scott Mills, and Adrian Chiles, and former professional footballer Robbie Keane.

US influencer Cassidy, who returned home from Argentina two days before his death, arrived with Damian Hurley, son of Elizabeth Hurley.

As Payne’s mother and father, Geoff and Karen, arrived at the church in the Home Counties, standing next to the carriage, silence fell among mourners outside.

A few locals and fans also gathered nearby, but in the main largely stayed away from the private ceremony.

Payne rose to worldwide fame alongside Styles, Tomlinson, Malik and Horan on The X Factor in 2010, when they were put together to form One Direction. They went on to become one of the most successful UK pop groups of all time.

After the band announced their hiatus, the singer launched his solo career, releasing his debut album LP1 in December 2019.

His solo hits included Strip That Down, Bedroom Floor and For You, a collaboration with singer Rita Ora – who paid tribute to Payne as she hosted the MTV Europe Music Awards in Manchester.

Prosecutors in Argentina have launched an investigation into Payne’s death and announced earlier this month that three people had been charged in connection with the incident.

One Direction tributes

Payne’s One Direction bandmates all publicly paid tribute following his death.

“His greatest joy was making other people happy and it was an honour to be alongside him as he did it,” said Styles in his statement. “Liam lived wide open, with his heart on his sleeve, he had an energy for life that was infectious.

“He was warm, supportive and incredibly loving. The years we spent together will forever remain among the most cherished years of my life. I will miss him always, my lovely friend.”

Tomlinson said he had “lost a brother” and offered to be an uncle to Payne’s son, Bear, if he “ever needs me”.

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Horan, who had been touring in South America and saw Payne at his show in the weeks before his death, said: “I feel so fortunate that I got to see him recently. I sadly didn’t know that after saying goodbye and hugging him that evening, I would be saying goodbye forever. It’s heartbreaking.”

Malik said Payne had supported him “through some of the most difficult times” of his life, and said he always had a “positive outlook and reassuring smile”.

Cowell also paid tribute, saying he was “devastated” and “heartbroken”.

He continued: “I wanted to let you know what I would always say to the thousands of people who would always ask me. What is Liam like? And I would tell them you were kind, funny, sweet, thoughtful, talented, humble, focused. And how much you loved music. And how much love you genuinely had for the fans.”

Inflation has risen by more than expected due to an increase in energy bills, according to official figures.

It’s the first rise in the rate of price increases, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), for three months.

The figure stood at 2.3% in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), above the 2.2% forecast by economists.

This is also a sizeable increase on the 1.7% recorded a month earlier.

Household gas and electricity bills rose last month as the energy price cap brought the cost of a typical annual bill up by an extra £12 a month.

Inflation wasn’t higher because there were falls in live music and theatre ticket prices and continued drops in the cost of raw materials due to cheaper oil.

Money blog: Follow live reaction to inflation news

Latest inflation data will be cause for concern for rate-setters

Gurpreet Narwan

Business and economics correspondent

@gurpreetnarwan

How worried should we be about this inflation news?

These figures are a world away from the double-digit levels of inflation we experienced in 2022, when the index peaked at 11.1%. Inflation has broadly been coming down as the Bank of England has ratcheted up interest rates.

However, Labour’s budget has created inflation jitters. The government is injecting a big fiscal stimulus into the economy in the form of higher government spending.

The rise in employers’ national insurance contributions could also lead to higher prices.

This has raised the inflation forecasts and likely slowed the pace of interest rate cuts.

Read Gurpreet Narwan’s full analysis of the inflation news.

What about interest rates?

Today’s data may affect the likelihood of the Bank of England cutting interest rates next month.

Before the inflation figure was announced, there was a 78.3% chance of no change – and a 21.7% chance that the cost of borrowing would fall by 0.25 percentage points, according to market expectations.

After the announcement that changed to 84% chance of no cut.

Also on the up was another important measure of inflation watched by the Bank – core inflation, which measures price rises but excludes food and energy costs as they’re liable to sharply fall or rise.

Core inflation rose to 3.3%, more than the 3.1% expected by economists polled by Reuters.

Services inflation also came in above forecast and higher than a month ago at 5%.

Political reaction

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, said the government understands people are struggling after the inflation announcement.

He said: “We know that families across Britain are still struggling with the cost of living. That is why the budget last month focused on fixing the foundation of our economy so we can deliver change.

“But we know there is more to do. That is why the government is focused on economic growth and investment so we can make every part of the country better off.”

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But shadow chancellor Mel Stride said: “It’s higher inflation and lower growth under Labour.

“What is worrying about today’s announcement is that inflation is running ahead of expectations and official forecasts state these figures are not expected to improve.

“Labour’s budget will push up inflation and mortgage rates.”

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