Police have already received letters from paedophiles threatening to appeal against their convictions for possessing similar material. The investigation by Scotland Yard's Obscene Publications Unit into the exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery in north London followed four complaints by outraged visitors who claimed the colour pictures were indecent and obscene.

They showed images of naked and semi-clothed youngsters wearing a variety of animal masks.Р”Р„ police raid on the gallery last week sparked a fierce debate between child safety campaigners and the so-called 'liberal lobby' who warned of the dangers of censorship.Р”Р„t the centre of the investigation was a particularly graphic shot of a small naked girl lying beneath the legs of a partly clothed older child.Р”Вetectives believed it had 'clear sexual connotations'. They argued at a meeting with CPS lawyers on Wednesday that such an image on the Inter-net would have automatically led to indecency charges. They reluctantly accepted that some of the other controversial pictures could be categorised as 'contemporary art'. The exhibition, entitled 'I am a Camera', features the work of notorious American photographers Nan Goldin and Tierney Gearon, who uses her own children, aged six and four, as models. The controversial gallery is owned by advertising mogul Charles Saatchi, 57.Р”Вetectives had recommended corporate charges under the Protection of Children Act 1978. The decision not to prosecute was taken by a senior CPS lawyer, whose view would have been endorsed by Director of Public Prosecutions, David Calvert-Smith QC. Police fear that a dangerous precedent has been set which will help lawyers representing sex offenders. The gallery had taken the unusual step of hiring a high-powered legal team, including one of the country's top barristers, Geoffrey Robertson, QC, to argue its case in a written submission to the DPP.Р”Р„ CPS spokesman last night said lawyers believed there was no realistic prospect of a conviction. '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,' the spokesman said. Last night the Saatchi Gallery - where the pictures have remained on show throughout the investigation - joined the two artists in issuing a statement expressing their delight and relief. 'It's been a very worrying time for the two artists involved and their families,' said a spokesman. The photographs will remain on show until April 15. Police were first alerted to the controversial pictures on February 8 and covertly visited the gallery four days later.Р”Р„ file was submitted to the CPS on February 14 and police later warned the gallery to remove the pictures or risk them being seized. The exhibition, which has been running since mid-January, is sponsored by the Independent on Sunday newspaper, whose art critic describes some of the more controversial images as 'exhilarating portraits of family life'. Gerald Howarth MP, chairman of the cross-party Family and Child Protection Committee, warned the 'intellectual elite' against putting children at risk by sending the wrong message to paedophiles. Gallery officials will meet with police and lawyers to discuss the issue today.Р”Вetectives will stress their determination to 'police' such exhibitions in the future. Rachel Stevens looks effortlessly chic in a black off-the-shoulder sundress as she poses with rarely-seen daughters Amelie, 11, and Minnie, eight Gwyneth Paltrow wishes lookalike daughter Apple a happy 18th birthday: 'You are everything I could have dreamed of and so much more'

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