As the chorus of calls grew louder for Mayor Rob Ford to step aside, his brother, adviser and fiercest defender, Councillor Doug Ford, was a no-show at Toronto City Hall on Thursday.

“No comment,” a member of his administrative staff in his office told a Star reporter who asked if the elder Ford was coming in.

While the mayor is typically flanked by his brother when addressing the latest scandal, he did so alone Thursday after the Star posted a cellphone video that, by his own admission, was embarrassing and recorded when he was “very, very inebriated.”

Doug Ford has granted only one interview since Tuesday, when his brother stunned the world with his crack-cocaine smoking admission. He told the Toronto Sun’s Joe Warmington it was the “worst day” of his life.

“I didn’t see it coming,” Doug Ford told the newspaper columnist. “He didn’t talk to me, the lawyer, his staff or anybody.”

He left city hall Wednesday without answering any media questions, which is highly unusual for a man regarded as principal spokesperson for the Ford administration.

His silence is in sharp contrast to his blustery demands, made earlier in the week, for Chief Bill Blair to resign for comments he made during a press conference where he revealed that police have a copy of the video appearing to show the mayor smoking crack.

Nor has Doug Ford responded to the growing number of council colleagues, including key allies — deputy mayor Norm Kelly, Vincent Crisanti and Mark Grimes — who are calling on Rob Ford to step aside and seek help for substance abuse.

Doug Ford is increasingly the target of criticism for “enabling” his brother’s acknowledged substance abuse. On their Sunday radio show, Doug suggested his brother should do his drinking in his basement.

On Thursday, newspaper boxes across the city featured The Grid weekly cover story with the headline “Doug Ford. Worst. Brother. Ever.”

His older sister, Kathy Ford, meanwhile, gave a rare interview — with her mother, Diane — Thursday on television station CP24, where they rejected suggestions Rob Ford needed to go to rehab or resign.

Kathy Ford also expressed sympathy for Doug, saying her sibling is caught in the middle of Rob Ford’s problems.

“Doug needs time to chill out, because he’s hot,” Kathy Ford said. “He will be there for Rob.”

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