'Stressed' Zayn Malik quits One Direction tour

Zayn Malik has left the One Direction tour due to stress.

The One Direction band member pulled out of a shoot in Hong Kong today so he could fly back to the UK to be with his family.

"Zayn has been signed off with stress and is flying back to the UK to recuperate. The band wish him well and will continue with their performances in Manila and Jakarta," a spokesperson for the band said.

He hopes to return for their gig in South Africa on March 28.

“Zayn finds it tougher than the rest of his band-mates dealing with fame. Having his every movement scrutinised causes great anxiety and the pictures which surfaced with the fan yesterday was the final straw,” a source told The Sun.

“He did nothing wrong but the amount of criticism he received was simply too much. He needs to get away."

This comes after he took to his Twitter account on Wednesday night to slam the "jealous f**ks" who have accused him of cheating on his fiancée during a recent night out in Thailand.

I'm 22 years old... I love a girl named Perrie Edwards. And there's a lot of jealous fucks in this world I'm sorry for what it looks like x

— zayn (@zaynmalik) March 18, 2015

It was said that the singer was caught locking fingers with a girl - believed to be called Lauren Rich - following a night out at the Seduction club in Phuket.