Saatchi gallery will not be prosecuted

Photographer Tierney Gearon was under fire

The gallery at the centre of a censorship row over photographs of naked children will not be prosecuted.

Police officers were called to the Saatchi Gallery in London last week after complaints about photos taken by American photographer Tierney Gearon of her own children and a second photographer Nan Goldin.

If they had asked me to take the pictures down, I really would have doubted my moral judgement as a human being

Tierney Gearon

A police report was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service which decided on Thursday not to prosecute.

Ms Gearon told BBC Newsroom South East that the experience would "definitely affect" the way she works in the future.

She said: "I am so glad this has all been resolved.

"If they had asked me to take the pictures down, I really would have doubted my moral judgement as a human being."

A CPS spokesman said that after careful consideration there was no realistic prospect of any conviction under the Protection of Children Act 1978.

'Defence'

He said: "In reaching this decision, the CPS considered whether the photographs in question were indecent and the likely defence of the gallery, ie whether they had a legitimate reason for showing them."

Ms Gearon said her images had "wholesome innocent intentions".

The photographs are part of Charles Saatchi's private collection

She added: "I felt that because someone put a seed out there that my work was pornographic or obscene I felt they had poisoned my work.

"My children are such a huge part of my life and that's what I documented."

Ms Gearon's photos show her children in a variety of locations, often naked or semi-naked.

A spokesman for the gallery said staff at the gallery were delighted by the CPS's decision.

"Everyone at the Saatchi Gallery is very relieved as are all the artists in the show," the spokeswoman said.

"It's been a very worrying time for the two artists involved and their families.

"We are extremely grateful to the public and press who have supported the artists and the gallery."

The gallery is owned by the art collector Charles Saatchi, who has become a champion of modern art in Britain, and the photographs are part of Mr Saatchi's private collection.

Culture Secretary Chris Smith last week warned of the dangers of censorship while not commenting on the pictures directly.

The photographs will remain on show until the end of the exhibition on 15 April.