Toronto Mayor Rob Ford apologises over drinking 'mistakes'

Toronto mayor Rob Ford: "I am not perfect"

The mayor of Toronto, Rob Ford, has used his weekly radio show to apologise for "mistakes" and drunken behaviour, but said he would not leave office.

He said his actions were "pure stupidity" and he would try to curb his drinking.
Mr Ford is under pressure after Canadian police revealed they had recovered a video appearing to show him smoking from a crack cocaine pipe.

He denies smoking crack, and has called for the video to be released.
During his radio programme on Sunday, he said he had "made mistakes", including being drunk in public when he appeared at a street festival in August.

"I sincerely, sincerely apologise to my family, to the citizens, to taxpayers of this great city."
He vowed to make some lifestyle changes, saying he would moderate his drinking rather than stop altogether.

He added: "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 published editorials calling for him to quit.
Mystery video Last week, Canadian police said they had recovered a video from a deleted hard drive appearing to show Mr Ford smoking from a crack pipe.
Police have not gone into detail about the content of the mobile phone footage, but say it is consistent with previous media descriptions.

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford ordered the press to leave his property last week

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.

Reports of the video's existence triggered a massive police investigation into the mayor and his associates, including a friend and occasional driver Alexander "Sandro" Lisi.

Mr Lisi has since been charged with marijuana trafficking and possession. Police said on Thursday he now faced a charge of extortion in relation to the video.

Police said the video will come out when Mr Lisi goes to trial on drug and extortion charges.

SOURCE: BBC