I’m STILL talking to Liam Payne’s family despite £8m lawsuit, tragic star’s ‘pal’ Roger Nores says as he reveals letter
LIAM Payne’s close friend who was charged over the singer’s death – but later had them dropped – has revealed he is still talking to the grieving family.
Roger Nores claimed he has had “support” from Liam’s family, despite pursuing an £8million defamation lawsuit against the dad, Geoff.
The US-born businessman was charged in December with manslaughter over his alleged part in Liam’s drink and drug-fuelled plunge.
But he learned last month that his appeal had been successful and the charge was dropped.
Two CasaSur Palermo Hotel workers also had charges against them dropped.
The former One Direction singer’s family said in a weekend statement they accepted the decision by the Buenos Aires Court of Appeal.
In his first interview earlier this week, Nores revealed he repeatedly denied Liam’s demands for drugs – and claimed no one could have predicted how the tragic events would unfold.
And today, in a second interview, Nores rubbished claims he has a sour relationship with Liam’s family.
He claimed to have the family’s backing – despite being one of the people closest to their son before his death and chasing the £8million lawsuit against Liam’s dad.
Nores wants compensation for damages because he claims Geoff made “false” statements about him to Argentinian prosecutors.
He told Todo Noticias this week: “Liam’s family wrote to us this morning.
“They called us to confirm what had already been said publicly which is they accept and agree with the latest court decision which is very conclusive.
“It says not only that I didn’t do anything wrong but also says I put a lot of effort into trying to avoid certain things happening.”
He added: “During this period, this process, I had a lot more support from Liam’s family than people think.”
Michigan-born, Miami-based Nores also said he understood the reaction of some fans who turned on him after Liam’s shock death.
Prosecutors described him as the singer’s manager and alleged he could have done more to save him – leading to fury from distraught fans.
He said: “The truth is that Liam’s fans are in great pain because he was a much-loved man. It’s what we all feel.
“It’s logical to be in pain and miss Liam. It happens to all of us in life. It’s a very human reaction, when you lose something you’re not going to have anymore, to not understand the world.
“It was very difficult for me too because Liam was my friend and I was left devastated knowing that I wasn’t going to see him anymore.
“You get angry with him, you get angry with the world, you try to look for a person to blame.
“I think they were looking for an explanation which is what all of us were doing. The truth is that life when it comes to these things is not fair.”
While still facing manslaughter charges, Nores claimed he had “never tried drugs” and doesn’t drink alcohol.
He added that Liam had “10 hard years” but that “everyone tried to help him”.
Nores’s latest interview is the first since Liam’s family seemed to indicate they would not appeal the charges being dropped against Nores and the two hotel workers.
Nores’s appeal against his manslaughter charge hinged on rejected the claim he had been acting as Liam’s representative.
If he had taken on a position of responsibility over Liam, then he could have failed in his duty of care for the singer.
Prosecutors confirmed the appeal court judges dropped the charges on the basis that Nores did not hold any “special obligations” that could link his conduct to the singer’s death.
Esteban Grassi, the chief receptionist at CasaSur Palermo Hotel, and head of security Gilda Martin were also cleared by appeal court judges.
Meanwhile, the pair accused of selling Liam cocaine before his fall from the CasaSur Palermo Hotel will remain in prison after being told they still face prosecution and probable trial.
They have been warned they could face between four and 15 years in prison on conviction.