Piper Fumes At Anti-Smoking Campaigners

A rep for British actress Billie Piper has hit back at anti-smoking campaigners who blasted the star after she was photographed lighting up near her son, insisting the images are "misleading".

The Secret Diary of a Call Girl star was photographed puffing on a cigarette as she sat with her 21-month old son Winston in a pub garden in London this week (beg19Jul10).

The pictures, which showed the tot apparently close to a cloud of smoke, infuriated health advocates, who slammed Piper for putting her child's health at risk.

But the actress' spokesperson insists Piper was not as close to her son as the pictures appear to show.

A statement reads, "Billie is a responsible parent who values her child's health above all else. Though a smoker, she is careful to only do so outside and with consideration to those around her. Due to the angle from which it is taken, the picture is misleading. It does not give a true sense of perspective in relation to the proximity of her son".