Rock legend Sir Elton John is being investigated on possible child pornography after a photo form the musician’s private collection was set to go on public display at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art. The photo is now being examined by Northumbria Police to see if it breaches pornography legislation.

A statement on Sir Elton’s official website confirms the image was owned by him.

It read: “The photograph entitled Klara And Edda Belly-Dancing (1998) is one of 149 images comprising the Thanksgiving installation by renowned US photographer Nan Goldin.

“The photograph exists as part of the installation as a whole and has been widely published and exhibited throughout the world.

“It can be found in the monograph of Ms Goldin’s works entitled The Devil’s Playground (Phaidon, 2003), has been offered for sale at Sotheby’s New York in 2002 and 2004, and has previously been exhibited in Houston, London, Madrid, New York, Portugal, Warsaw and Zurich without any objections of which we are aware.”

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: “We attended the Baltic last Thursday at the invitation of management who were seeking advice about an item from an exhibition prior to it going on public display. This item is being assessed and Northumbria Police in consultation with the CPS is investigating the circumstances surrounding it.”