If Rob Ford asks Toronto police for a recording of the 911 calls he made after he was ambushed at his home by This Hour Has 22 Minutes, they will release it to him.

• He said, she said: Mary Walsh vs Rob Ford

“It could be released to him and he could do with it whatever he chose,” said police spokesman Mark Pugash.

The disputed contents of that call have stirred fresh controversy for the embattled mayor following a CBC News report alleging Ford berated the 911 dispatcher in a profanity-laced tirade.

Ford admitted to using the F-word in the call, but has denied insulting the female operator, calling the CBC report “absolutely false.”

But pressure was mounting Thursday against Ford from within City Hall to obtain and release the tapes to set the allegations straight.

Left-wing councillor Joe Mihevc said “it's absolutely important for the tapes to be released to clear the air,” adding Torontonians should know how their elected officials treat city staff.

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“If the tapes are not released, the absence of them basically verifies CBC’s version of events. If it turns out he behaved in the way CBC says he did, an apology is in order and people can question the appropriateness of his actions and his ability to serve as mayor.”

The mayor called 911 when 22 Minutes cast member Mary Walsh — dressed in character as the outlandish and loud-mouthed Marg Delahunty — approached him in his driveway Monday morning. The episode aired Tuesday night.

On Thursday morning, the CBC reported that when police didn't arrive right away, Ford turned on the dispatcher in a subsequent call, yelling: “You . . . bitches! Don't you f---ing know? I'm Rob f---ing Ford, the mayor of this city!” The CBC also reported that after the alleged tirade, Ford's call was made a priority ahead of other calls.

Ford released a statement Thursday afternoon, denying the allegations.

“After being attacked in my driveway, I hope I can be excused for saying the F-word,” reads the statement. “I never called anyone any names. I apologize for expressing my frustration inappropriately.”

CBC News is standing by their story. “There were multiple sources who gave us information about the 911 call,” said CBC spokesman Chris Ball. “We have reconfirmed with our sources and they stand behind what they have told us.”

Speaking to reporters at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary School — where the mayor coaches football — Ford first said it was up to the police, not him, to release the recording. then retracted and said he wasn't sure. “I'll talk to the police about it,” he said.

He refused to answer direct questions from a Star reporter about whether or not he would release the tape.

Councillor Adam Vaughan, a former police services board member, said Ford is under a cloud and must release the 911 tapes.

“Either the CBC was grossly unfair to the mayor or the mayor of Toronto is not telling the truth,” said Vaughan, a frequent critic of Ford. “If the mayor expects a different level of policing because of his office, that's a big problem.”

Josh Matlow, a centrist on council, said if Ford is refuting the CBC's report “it would be in his interest” to have the tapes released.

Ford's allies, however, defended the mayor.

“You don't show up at someone's house early in the morning and scare the wits out of their family and expect that to be humourous,” said Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who called on the CBC to apologize.

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Mammoliti said the focus should be on how the 911 tapes were released and why the police took 10 minutes to get to Ford's house.

“The point is they were afraid. Something happened and they were afraid. That's the mayor's story and I believe him when he says he feels that his family was threatened. If he feels his family was threatened and called the police, the question needs to be where were the police?”

On the football field, with shouts of “Go Bosco” echoing in the background, Ford told reporters he felt “accosted” by Walsh and her camera crew.

“You have a big guy and a lady who looked like a guy dressed up ... the first thing in the morning yelling and screaming at you. I've had a few death threats. I have to be careful and I've always been told, ‘Call 911 if anything happens.' ”

Ford added he has never seen This Hour Has 22 Minutes. “I didn't know who they were,” he said.

He apologized again for losing his temper with the 911 operator, but reiterated he did not insult her or claim he deserved extra attention as the city's mayor.

“Maybe I shouldn't have used the ‘F-word' — I apologize. But to say I called the dispatcher a bitch, I never said that ... I was frustrated. I was very upset that they accosted me in my driveway.”

Even what happened before the 911 call is disputed.

Ford said the CBC comedy troupe “crossed the line” by ambushing him in the presence of his 6-year-old daughter, whom he said ran back into the house crying.

Walsh told the Star the mayor's daughter wasn't there when she showed up in his driveway.

“There was no child at all,” she said. “I mean, was she inside his suit jacket? We never saw any children.”

Walsh also said Ford seemed jovial at first — even smiling a little — and did not give off the impression that he felt threatened.

Mike McCormack, head of the Toronto Police Association, told reporters outside city hall none of the 911 dispatchers have filed a complaint over the Ford calls.

With files from Michael Woods, Amy Dempsey and Paul Moloney