UK photographer David Hamilton dies at 83 amid rape scandal Published duration 26 November 2016

media caption The circumstances of David Hamilton's death are unclear

The controversial British photographer David Hamilton, best known for nude images of young girls, has died in Paris at the age of 83.

He was found unconscious at his flat and died shortly afterwards. Police say the case is an apparent suicide.

Hamilton had recently denied accusations that he had in the past raped some of his teenage models.

He made his name in the 1960s with soft-focus pictures of young girls published by major magazines.

The emergency services were called to his apartment in the French capital's 6th district (arrondissement) shortly after 20:30 local time (19:30 GMT) on Friday, where he was found unresponsive.

Results of a post mortem will be available in the coming days.

His death comes after a book published last month in which prominent TV presenter Flavie Flament described being raped at the age of 13 in the 1980s by a famous photographer, without giving a name.

In an interview with L'Obs weekly last week, Flament named Hamilton as her attacker. Other women then levelled similar accusations.

image copyright AFP image caption Emergency services were called after 20:30 local time

Hamilton, whose work has long raised questions about where art ends and pornography begins, strongly denied the allegations, and said he would sue for defamation.

Flament was left "devastated" by the news of his death on Friday, her editor Karina Hocine told AFP news agency.

"Naturally, we feel horrified and, at the same time, really disgusted that there was not enough time for justice to run its course," she added.

Born in London in 1933, Hamilton settled in France after leaving Britain in the 1950s.