Outspoken energy minister Bill Bennett has been forced out of the British Columbia cabinet.

“There's important precedent that says that the cabinet has to operate as a team,” CKNW radio quoted Finance Minister Colin Hansen saying this morning. “It was obvious that Bill Bennett was not prepared to work as a member of that team and so cabinet as a whole made a decision that they would ask him to leave cabinet and he agreed.”

Bennett is to meet with reporters in Victoria later today.

Bennett publicly criticized Premier Gordon Campbell for failing to consult with the Liberal caucus before the Oct. 25 cabinet shuffle and has been widely quoted in recent days saying Campbell should leave as soon as possible to make the leadership campaign less awkward for potential candidates.

Bennett is the MLA for Kootenay East.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Reach him here.