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One Direction's Harry Styles has described online threats made towards TV host Caroline Flack as a "shame".

The 17-year-old singer said that the people making the comments "don't really think about what they're writing".

In recent weeks Harry Styles has been romantically linked with the Xtra Factor host, something he denies.

The teenage singer said he and 32-year-old Caroline Flack were "close friends".

"We're friends and we hang out sometimes but that's about it for now. We'll see what happens," he said.

Caroline Flack tweeted last week that she had received death threats from some One Direction fans.

He said: "I think a lot of people write stuff on the internet and a lot of the time, they don't really think about what exactly they're writing and how it can affect people."

One Direction, who came third on last year's series of The X Factor, scored their first UK number one single in September with What Makes You Beautiful.