Cate Blanchett in child porn row

Cate Blanchett (pictured), the Oscar-winning actress, has become embroiled in a dispute over a proposed photograph exhibition in Sydney that, according to the police, shows pornographic images of naked, pre-pubescent children. Artist Bill Henson's photographs had been due to be shown in an art gallery last week, but were confiscated after complaints from a child protection campaigner, igniting a fierce debate in Australia about artistic freedom and censorship.

Blanchett, a mother of three, is one of a prominent group - among them South African-born author JM Coetzee, now an Australian citizen - who showed solidarity with Henson by signing an open letter expressing "dismay at the police raid on Bill Henson's recent Sydney exhibition, the allegation that he is a child pornographer and the subsequent reports that he and others may be charged with obscenity". They are particularly incensed that Kevin Rudd, the country’s Prime Minister, has waded in, branding the work "absolutely revolting".

The letter, released yesterday, said that although public debate about Henson's work was welcome, any prosecution of one of Australia's most respected artists would damage the nation’s cultural reputation. Police in New South Wales are still investigating whether the photographs violate obscenity laws.