Len Brown doesn't do his own laundry, alleges Graham McCready

Graham McCready, who has been described by no lesser an authority than Cameron Slater as a "serial litigant, convicted fraudster, blackmailer and now bankrupt", has today alleged that Shan Inglis, wife of embattled Auckland mayor Len Brown, does some of her husband's laundering for him.

Now, one of the main planks of Len Brown's 2013 campaign was that he always did his own washing and ironing, and this arguably tipped many undecided voters in his favour. Doubts over the veracity of this statement were raised soon after his election victory, of course, when several loads of Mr Brown's dirty washing were aired in public, first by the aforementioned Slater and then, incessantly, by the New Zealand Herald.

And now Mr McCready has dropped his latest bombshell, alleging that gifts in the name of Ms Inglis were a "laundering exercise'' to avoid Len Brown having to declare them on his register of interests. By accepting these freebies, maintains McCready, Ms Inglis became a party to her husband's alleged laundering and "in the interest of justice she ought to be made accountable".

If proven true, McCready's allegations will pile further pressure on Mr Brown to admit that he does not, in fact, do all his own washing, an admission that could well prolong indefinitely the tumultuous spin cycle he currently finds himself in.