The picture editor at the Daily Mail appeared before the Leveson Inquiry today to answer questions on the alleged harassment of Hugh Grant.

In November, Grant gave the inquiry a supplementary witness statement, explaining the intrusion he and Tinglan Hong, the mother of his baby daughter, had suffered at the hands of photographers following the birth.

Paul Silva, who has worked for the Daily Mail for over 20 years, suggested Grant should have issued a picture of the child to the press and that interest in the birth was “normal”.

Silva answered questions on the treatment of other celebrities including Sienna Miller, who he said the Mail were not “interested in”, and Pippa Middleton. He said the picture desk receives 300 to 400 images of Middleton every day and most are not printed.

He was asked about pictures taken of the McCann family after they returned to the UK in 2007. He said consent had been given to photograph twins Sean and Amelia, aged two when Madeline was abducted, in Portugal and paparazzi continued under this premise when stationed outside the family’s home in Leicestershire.

Silva said the Mail receives over 30,000 images from around the world everyday and has to make quick decisions over which pictures to print in the paper. He explained his approach to privacy, saying that pictures should not be taken in private places but were acceptable in public.

Leveson replied: “I understand where the line is drawn, the question is whether it’s reasonably drawn."

The picture editor said he does not deal with pictures for Mail Online, which has come under criticism for using intrusive paparazzi photographs, but picture editor Elliot Wagland follows the same standards as the print edition.