Lawyers for Simon Cowell have released a statement responding to speculation about his sexuality which arose last week during the trial of N Dubz singer and former X Factor judge Tulisa Contostavlos.

During the trial – where Contostavlos stood accused of supplying class A drugs to undercover journalist Mazher Mahmood – a recording was played to the court in which her PA Gareth Varey told the undercover journalist that he knew men who had slept with Cowell.

During the taped conversation Mahmood asked Varey if Cowell was gay. Varey answered “yes”, although admitted he hadn’t slept with him personally. “I know people who have,” he added.

Following the dismissal of the case yesterday, Cowell’s legal team have today released a statement about recent “widespread media coverage of untrue claims regarding his private life”.

“In 2014 the question of whether someone is or is not gay is antiquated (As it happens he isn’t, though if he were, he would simply have said so),” it states.

“However, the issue was the false suggestion made by Mr Varey that Simon — who is renowned for his honesty and candidness — had thus not been truthful in the public arena and this is what we have been obliged to clarify.”