George Michael's partner says hackers to blame for tweets saying singer killed himself

Messages posted under the name of Fadi Fawaz had suggested the pop icon has tried to kill himself several times

George Michael is said to have struggled to cope with losing some of his singing ability after suffering from pneumonia (Getty)

George Michael's partner has said hackers were responsible for posts on his Twitter page that suggested the singer killed himself after making numerous prior suicide attempts.

Messages written under the name of Fadi Fawaz, who found Michael dead in bed at his Oxfordshire home on Christmas morning, said the pop icon had taken his own life, but Mr Fawaz said he did not post them.

He said he was "shocked" at the messages but was "not going to worry about these things".

The series of tweets read: "I was in a relationship with George Michael till I found him dead in bed.

“The only thing George wanted is to DIE. He tried numbers of times to kill himself many times and finally he managed.

“We loved each other very much and were together almost 24 hours a day."

The messages were later deleted and the account was closed.

Mr Fazaz told Mirror Online: "I am shocked with what's going on with the Twitter thing. My Twitter account has been hacked and closed.

"It's a bit scary to be honest. I did not send those tweets. I woke up at 11.30am to the news. I am not going to worry about these things."

A number of news organisations, including The Independent, had reported on the tweets with the caveat that it was not clear he had actually written the messages.

Mr Fawaz has previously used his Twitter page to talk about his partner's death. On Boxing Day he wrote: "It’s a Xmas I will never forget finding your partner dead peacefully in bed first thing in the morning. I will never stop missing you."

On New Year's Eve Mr Fawaz posted a picture of a hand with the middle finger up, alongside the caption: “I hate you 2016 from the bottom of my heart”.

A postmortem examination of the singer's body was inconclusive as to the cause of death.

Police have confirmed they are treating the death as unexplained but not suspicious and they were carrying out further tests, including toxicology reports to establish if drugs were involved. The results of the additional tests were not expected for several weeks.

The news follows reports that Michael was struggling to cope with the fact his singing ability had been impaired by the bout of pneumonia he contracted from in 2011.

The illness is reported to have reduced his lung capacity by 20 per cent, decreasing his vocal power.

A source close to the singer told The Mirror: “Losing voice capacity for a man like him was like losing his inner self or his soul.

“Things got so dark and difficult after it hit him. It tipped him over a psychological edge. George would never be the same man again – and more importantly, never be the same singer.

“He needed drugs and alcohol and anything he could get hold of to cope with such a severe loss.”