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The third floor room at the Casa Sur hotel where Liam Payne was staying is now sealed off with police tape.

Hotel guests walk up and down the corridor but a police officer is on guard to ensure nobody interferes with what is still the scene of an active investigation.

How and why did the One Direction star plummet to his death from the balcony of this room and was there any third-party involvement?

A 911 emergency call has already been leaked in which a hotel worker expresses concern for a guest who he believes to be under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

It is part of a stark picture emerging of the 31-year-old’s final hours.

Fans of Liam Payne mourn his death in Argentina
Image:
Fans of Payne mourn his death in Argentina. Pic: AP

Read more:
Former One Direction star Harry Styles pays tribute to Liam Payne
Liam Payne’s close friend reveals final messages to her

Sky News has seen police images from inside the room which authorities say was completely trashed.

More on Liam Payne

The pictures show a TV screen smashed, unknown white substances and aluminium foil strewn across surfaces.

Other guests at the hotel in the upmarket Palermo district of Buenos Aires include a party of at least 20 people from the United States, in town for a friend’s wedding.

For Doug Jones, it is his first time out of the US and he did not know what to expect.

He’s staying in the room opposite where Payne was. The day before the singer died, Doug says he saw hotel staff coming in and out of the room carrying furniture.

“I assumed they were doing renovations because they had tool kits and drills,” he said.

On the day that Payne died, Doug said he heard lots of commotion coming from the room.

“A lot of crashing and banging and shouting,” he said. It culminated around 5pm, Doug says, when he heard a “violent, manly scream”.

Forensics at the hotel.
Pic:: Reuters
Image:
Forensics at the hotel.
Pic: Reuters

He came outside and on to the tree-lined street outside, with its smart restaurants, bars and high-end shops.

It was suddenly filled with police cars. It was then he realised something tragic had unfolded.

“I’d heard of One Direction but I wouldn’t recognise Liam Payne, but some of the women who are part of the wedding had seen him in the elevator,” he said. “Now there’s a police woman sitting outside my room watching his room. I’m not sure how long she’ll be there.”

Other guests say they had seen Payne engaged in a heated discussion with a woman in the hotel lobby just hours before he died.

Pictures from  Liam Payne's hotel room in Buenos Aires. Pic: Buenos Aires Police
Image:
Pictures from Payne’s hotel room in Buenos Aires. Pic: Buenos Aires Police

A 15-minute drive across town is the judicial morgue, where forensic experts assess that Payne had suffered 25 separate injuries in the fall, including massive internal and external bleeding. His injuries were incompatible with life, they said.

Baleria Linares, a 21-year-old college student who lives just a few streets from the Casa Sur hotel, has returned to join other fans who gathered to weep and sing One Direction songs. “We are together in our grief,” she said.

“Liam means so much to me,” she added between sobs, “he helped me through a hard time in my life. When I was happy I listened to them, when I was sad I listened to them. I love them with all my heart. But I know that he’s resting now.”

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‘They saved my life at some point’

Some fans clutch bouquets, others pin notes to a nearby tree which is decorated with images of Payne.

“You’ll be always in our hearts,” one reads.

Morena Farias Gomez is sobbing as her friend tries to comfort her. “It is devastating news,” she said, “I’ve been a fan of One Direction for 10 years. I think they saved my life at some point, they were my teenage years, I grew up with them.”

The grief is real, here, but even more acute thousands of miles away with Payne’s family in the UK as they wait to bring his body home.

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Palace confirms dates of Trump’s state visit – as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

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Palace confirms dates of Trump's state visit - as King and Queen to host him at Windsor Castle

The dates for Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK have been announced, with the US president due to be welcomed by the King from 17 to 19 September.

Buckingham Palace also confirmed that President Trump and first lady Melania will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle.

It was expected that the three-day state visit would take place in September after Mr Trump let slip earlier in April that he believed that was when his second “fest” was being planned for.

Windsor was also anticipated to be the location after the US president told reporters in the Oval Office that the letter from the King said Windsor would be the setting. Refurbishment works at Buckingham Palace also meant that Windsor was used last week for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit.

This will be Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture towards an American leader, having previously been invited to Buckingham Palace in 2019.

Donald Trump and Melania Trump pose with Prince Charles and Camilla in 2019
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Donald Trump and Melania Trump posing with Charles and Camilla in 2019. Pic: Reuters

He has also been to Windsor Castle before, in 2018, but despite the considerable military pageantry of the day, and some confusion around inspecting the guard, it was simply for tea with Queen Elizabeth II.

Further details of what will happen during the three-day visit in September will be announced in due course.

More on Donald Trump

On Friday, Sky News revealed it is now unlikely that the US president will address parliament, usually an honour given to visiting heads of state as part of their visit. Some MPs had raised significant concerns about him being given the privilege.

But the House of Commons will not be sitting at the time of Mr Trump’s visit as it will rise for party conference season on the 16 September, meaning the president will not be able to speak in parliament as President Macron did during his state visit this week. However, the House of Lords will be sitting.

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Labour MP: ‘Trump isn’t welcome here’

In February this year, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer presented the US president with the letter from the King inviting him to visit during a meeting at the White House.

After reading it, Mr Trump said it was a “great, great honour”, adding “and that says at Windsor – that’s really something”.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a letter from Britain's King Charles as he meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 27, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque     TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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In February, Sir Keir Starmer revealed a letter from the King inviting Donald Trump to the UK. Pic: Reuters

In the letter, the King suggested they might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland first before the much grander state visit. However, it is understood that, although all options were explored, complexities in both the King and Mr Trump’s diaries meant it wasn’t possible.

Read more from Sky News:
Is the UK ready for a ‘Trump-fest’?
Elton and Jagger at royal banquet
King and Trump won’t hold private meeting

This week, it emerged that Police Scotland are planning for a summer visit from the US president, which is likely to see him visit one or both of his golf clubs in Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire, and require substantial policing resources and probably units to be called in from elsewhere in the UK.

Precedent for second-term US presidents, who have already made a state visit, is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.

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Fireball at Southend Airport after small plane crashes

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Fireball at Southend Airport after small plane crashes

A small plane has crashed at Southend Airport in Essex.

Essex Police said it was at the scene of a “serious incident”.

Images posted online showed huge flames and a large cloud of black smoke, with one witness saying they saw a “fireball”.

A police statement said: “We were alerted shortly before 4pm to reports of a collision involving one 12-metre plane.

“We are working with all emergency services at the scene now and that work will be ongoing for several hours.

“We would please ask the public to avoid this area where possible while this work continues.”

Fireball after plane crash at Southend Airport. Pic: Ben G
Image:
A huge fireball near the airport. Pic: Ben G

It has been reported that the plane involved in the incident is a Beech B200 Super King Air.

According to flight-tracking service Flightradar, it took off at 3.48pm and was bound for Lelystad, a city in the Netherlands.

One man, who was at Southend Airport with his family around the time of the incident, said the aircraft “crashed headfirst into the ground”.

John Johnson said: “About three or four seconds after taking off, it started to bank heavily to its left, and then within a few seconds of that happening, it more or less inverted and crashed.

“There was a big fireball. Obviously, everybody was in shock in terms of witnessing it. All the kids saw it and the families saw it.”

Mr Johnson added that he phoned 999 to report the crash.

Southend Airport said the incident involved “a general aviation aircraft”.

Four flights scheduled to take off from Southend this afternoon were cancelled, according to its website.

Flightradar data shows two planes that had been due to land at Southend were diverted to nearby airports London Gatwick and London Stansted.

Smoke rising near Southend airport. Pic: UKNIP
Image:
Plumes of black smoke. Pic: UKNIP

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said four crews, along with off-road vehicles, have attended the scene.

Four ambulances and four hazardous area response team vehicles are also at the airport, as well as an air ambulance, the East of England Ambulance Service said.

Its statement described the incident as “still developing”.

Fire engines at the scene at Southend Airport
Image:
Fire engines at the airport

David Burton-Sampson, the MP for Southend West and Leigh, posted on social media: “I am aware of an incident at Southend Airport. Please keep away and allow the emergency services to do their work.

“My thoughts are with everyone involved.”

Local councillor Matt Dent said on X: “At present all I know is that a small plane has crashed at the airport. My thoughts are with all those involved, and with the emergency services currently responding to the incident.”

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Heidi Alexander says ‘fairness’ will be government’s ‘guiding principle’ when it comes to taxes at next budget

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Heidi Alexander says 'fairness' will be government's 'guiding principle' when it comes to taxes at next budget

Another hint that tax rises are coming in this autumn’s budget has been given by a senior minister.

Speaking to Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander was asked if Sir Keir Starmer and the rest of the cabinet had discussed hiking taxes in the wake of the government’s failed welfare reforms, which were shot down by their own MPs.

Trevor Phillips asked specifically if tax rises were discussed among the cabinet last week – including on an away day on Friday.

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Tax increases were not discussed “directly”, Ms Alexander said, but ministers were “cognisant” of the challenges facing them.

Asked what this means, Ms Alexander added: “I think your viewers would be surprised if we didn’t recognise that at the budget, the chancellor will need to look at the OBR forecast that is given to her and will make decisions in line with the fiscal rules that she has set out.

“We made a commitment in our manifesto not to be putting up taxes on people on modest incomes, working people. We have stuck to that.”

Ms Alexander said she wouldn’t comment directly on taxes and the budget at this point, adding: “So, the chancellor will set her budget. I’m not going to sit in a TV studio today and speculate on what the contents of that budget might be.

“When it comes to taxation, fairness is going to be our guiding principle.”

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Reeves won’t rule out tax rises

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Afterwards, shadow home secretary Chris Philp told Phillips: “That sounds to me like a barely disguised reference to tax rises coming in the autumn.”

He then went on to repeat the Conservative attack lines that Labour are “crashing the economy”.

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Chris Philp also criticsed the government’s migration deal with France

Mr Philp then attacked the prime minister as “weak” for being unable to get his welfare reforms through the Commons.

Discussions about potential tax rises have come to the fore after the government had to gut its welfare reforms.

Sir Keir had wanted to change Personal Independence Payments (PIP), but a large Labour rebellion forced him to axe the changes.

With the savings from these proposed changes – around £5bn – already worked into the government’s sums, they will now need to find the money somewhere else.

The general belief is that this will take the form of tax rises, rather than spending cuts, with more money needed for military spending commitments, as well as other areas of priority for the government, such as the NHS.

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