Earlier this week One Direction fans were left fearing the worst, when it was reported that the band had actually split for good after not renewing their recording contract. But now member Liam Payne has attempted to clear up any rumours of a permanent 1D split, insisting the band are still just on a break.

Liam PayneLiam Payne has said One Direction have not split for good.

Arriving at LAX airport on Friday, Payne was asked by TMZ if the One Direction split rumours were true. "No, no, no,” Payne said firmly. “We just got nominated for two Brits!” Payne was also asked if Zayn Malik would ever rejoin the group, "Who knows? He's just doing his thing,” he said, adding, "I love Zayn, he's great.”

More: One Direction Deny Permanent Split After Source Claims They Haven't Renewed Their Recording Contract

It’s not the first time Payne has denied rumours that the band are done for good. Speaking at the Jingle Ball last month Payne told E! News: “There's more to come. We obviously want to tour all these songs. We love them so.” 

"I think the point of making the record to go on the break was to kind of give fans a thank you for this year, to wrap up what we've been doing for the last five years. It's been great for us,” he added.

But while One Direction may not be over for good, Payne does seem to be currently focusing on his solo career. On Sunday he posted a video to Instagram captioned, "Little Song I wrote for fun yesterday,” where he could be seen lip-syncing along to an R’n’B influenced track.

More: Zayn Malik Claims One Direction Don't Speak To Him Anymore

Payne isn’t the only One Direction member who’s using his time off to work on solo material. Earlier this month it was reported that Harry Styles had registered three new songs with the ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers), titled ‘5378 Miles’, ‘Already Home’, ‘Coco and Endlessly’.

A video posted by Liam Payne (@fakeliampayne) on