Vancouver city councillor Sean Orr is suing Mayor Ken Sim for defamation over comments in which he accused Orr of distributing illegal drugs.

Sim said at a press conference last week that he was misled by a picture he had seen, reportedly showing Orr distributing drugs on Christmas Day.

He then told a group of Chinese business leaders that Orr was handing out illegal drugs, audio of which was shared with Global News by The Canadian Press.

“I referenced a picture that had been shown to me, regarding Coun. Orr distributing drugs,” Sim said at a press conference on Tuesday.

“I didn’t verify what I thought I saw and frankly, I should have never repeated it to begin with.”

Sim said that his comments were wrong and he accepted full responsibility for his mistake, apologizing to Vancouverites.

Orr said Sim’s apology on Tuesday did not go far enough.

More to come…

–with files from The Canadian Press