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Toronto Mayor Rob Ford says he is 'not a drug addict' | |
(about 9 hours later) | |
Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has denied that he is a drug addict as he returned to work amid calls for him to resign over drug use rumours. | |
Mr Ford is under pressure after Canadian police revealed they had recovered a video appearing to show him smoking from a crack cocaine pipe. | Mr Ford is under pressure after Canadian police revealed they had recovered a video appearing to show him smoking from a crack cocaine pipe. |
On Monday, he said in an interview he was "not a drug addict". He has called for police to release the video. | |
He said he would not resign and vowed to run for re-election next year. | |
"If I had a problem, I'd be the first one to say I'm not fit to run the city," he said during a local radio interview on Monday. | |
The mayor added that while he enjoys "a few cocktails", he was "not an alcoholic". | |
"Have I drank a little too much at times? You're absolutely right," he said. "Am I going to curb that? Absolutely I'm going to curb that." | |
During a separate radio programme on Sunday, Mr Ford said he had "made mistakes", including being drunk in public at a street festival in August. | |
"I sincerely, sincerely apologise to my family, to the citizens, to taxpayers of this great city," he said. "I am going to fight like no-one has seen before to win the next election" in October 2014. | |
Last week, Mr Ford rejected calls from Toronto city councillors to step down. Four major Toronto daily newspapers have called for him to quit. | |
Mystery video | Mystery video |
Last week, Canadian police said they had recovered a video from a deleted hard drive that appeared to show Mr Ford smoking from a crack pipe. | |
Police have not revealed details of the mobile phone video footage but say it is consistent with previous descriptions from media organisations that had viewed it. | |
Reports initially surfaced in May of the video's existence, but it has never been released publicly. | Reports initially surfaced in May of the video's existence, but it has never been released publicly. |
Police have not filed criminal charges against Mr Ford in connection with the video. | Police have not filed criminal charges against Mr Ford in connection with the video. |
Reports of the video's existence triggered a wide police investigation into the mayor and his associates, including a friend and occasional driver Alexander "Sandro" Lisi. | |
Mr Lisi has been charged with marijuana trafficking and possession. Police said on Thursday he faced an additional charge of extortion in relation to the video. | |
Police have said they expect the video will come out when Mr Lisi goes to trial. |