Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett responded to his firing from cabinet today by comparing Premier Gordon Campbell to a wife beater who intimidates his cabinet and caucus.

“You have almost a battered wife syndrome inside our caucus today, inside our cabinet,” Bennett told reporters in a 37-minute scrum in Victoria.

“I'm tired of the bullshit that goes on in politics and I'm really tired of the way Gordon Campbell thinks he can just run on people,” Bennett said. “He can run on me, I'm a tough guy, I can take it, but I've seen him do it to other people in our caucus.”

He said that well liked former Liberal cabinet ministers Carole Taylor, Christy Clark and Olga Illich were all driven out of politics by Campbell.

“He's not a nice man,” said Bennett.

Finance Minister Colin Hansen said earlier Bennett was asked to leave cabinet because he'd shown he can't work as part of the team.

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