Sun editor Dominic Mohan due before Leveson inquiry

The ethics of the Sun newsroom will come under public scrutiny at the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday when the Leveson inquiry into media culture and practices resumes. Seven weeks after a string of celebrities launched a series of virulent attacks on the ethics of the British press and the behaviour of paparazzi, the editor of the Sun will take the witness stand to defend Britain's best-selling tabloid. Dominic Mohan will hope to get through the ordeal of such a public interrogation without any significant blows landing on him or two of his staff who are also appearing – Duncan Larcombe, the royal editor, and Gordon Smart, editor of the Bizarre showbusiness column. There is no evidence to suggest any reader backlash against the the Sun. Its latest circulation figures show it sells 2.7m copies a day, not much different to its sales in June in the weeks before its sister paper, the News of the World, was abruptly closed when the phone-hacking scandal erupted in July. Leveson and his lead barrister, Robert Jay, are expected to question Mohan about his newsroom practices and the treatment of crime victims, celebrities and members of the public. There may also be questions about phone hacking, after allegations at the Leveson hearings last month – denied by the paper – that it was "routine" at the Sun. Last month the brother of the late News of the World journalist Sean Hoare told Leveson that Sean had told him hacking was "endemic" at News International, publisher of both titles. Sean Hoare blew the whistle on phone hacking at the News of the World and died of alcohol-related liver disease in July 2011. Stuart Hoare told the inquiry : "Sean had worked with certain individuals at both the Sun and News International where phone hacking was a daily routine … The reality was that phone hacking was endemic within the News International group [specifically Sean identified that this process was initiated at the Sun and later transferred to the News of the World] and he went on record both verbally and in writing to make this claim." Also giving evidence to Leveson on Monday are Mohan's best-known predecessor, Kelvin MacKenzie, and the paper's lawyer Justin Walford. Leveson has dedicated the entire week to newspapers and over four days the judge will also hear testimony from the editors of the Daily Telegraph, the Financial Times, the Independent, the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Express. Two other former editors of the Sun – David Yelland and Stuart Higgins – have submitted witness statements to the inquiry. Executives and journalists from the Financial Times, Telegraph Media Group and Independent will give evidence on Tuesday. Lionel Barber, the FT's editor, is the sole representative for the pink paper, while nine representatives of the Telegraph group, including the Daily Telegraph editor, Tony Gallagher, and the company's chief executive, Murdoch MacLennan, are listed to give evidence