Rita Ora burglary ‘may have been an inside job’

A 37-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the burglary at the Cowell residence and has been bailed until January.

The Sun reports that Ora’s six-bedroom semi-detached house in north west London, worth £1.3m, was burgled just seven days before Cowell’s home was targeted by thieves.

The music mogul was asleep upstairs with his partner Lauren Silverman and their 21-month-old son Eric during the early morning raid at the £35m house last Friday (December 4).

But to the frustration of Simon Cowell, who was next to her, that didn’t play either and we were swiftly chivvied into Little Mix and Fleur East’s smashing mash-up of Black Magic and Sax.

A source close to Rita told The Sun: “She is very shaken and has upped her personal protection and security at her homes”.

Police are investigating the break-in, but no arrests have been made.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Police in Brent were called to an address at 5.54 on Saturday, November 28, to reports of a burglary. Each time the police arrive they say they have just come from another burglary nearby”.

Asked if she had increased security as a result, she replied: “Yeah, I have”. He did manage to find some humour in the situation, however, joking that he had “the worst guard dogs in the world”‘ after his Yorkshire terriers Squiddly and Diddly failed to alert him to the burglars. It’s definitely something I am thinking about.

The news comes after the 23-year-old singer confirmed he had “handed [his] CV” to Simon ahead of the new series. One said: “I know of eight friends who’ve been burgled”. Delighted she chose X Factor, Simon said he didn’t have to work too hard to persuade her as she is a huge fan of the programme.