Compromising pictures of actor Orlando Bloom which appeared in the press have sparked a debate about the balance between privacy rights and freedom of the press.

Mr Bloom was photographed paddle boarding nude off the coast of Italy while accompanied by musician girlfriend Katy Perry.

Censored pictures were published by outlets like the New York Daily News and the UK’s Daily Star on Thursday, and uncensored pictures quickly circulated online.

The uncensored pictures have been published by the Daily Mirror.

Paul Tweed, senior partner and head of the media department at Belfast firm Johnsons Solicitors (pictured), told Irish Legal News that it is not immediately clear if Mr Bloom’s rights were violated.

Mr Tweed told ILN: “Much will depend on the background circumstances of this case. It is still not clear whether Orlando Bloom deliberately posed naked in an area where members of the public could see him i.e. within view of a public beach.

“However, if the photographs covertly using a telephoto lens in circumstances it may be that Bloom could argue that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy e.g. off a private beach or well out at sea.

“The fact that he was naked does not automatically negate any right to privacy. If he could establish that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy, then the next consideration would be to weigh the publisher’s Article 10 rights against his Article 8 right to privacy.”

He added: “However, the perception given in the publications I have looked at would tend to suggest that Bloom has gone naked to make some particular point, perhaps known only to himself and his partner.”