BC Rail trial cost more than $18M RCMP costs not calculated in total, says B.C. attorney general
Bob Virk, left, and Dave Basi outside B.C. Supreme Court during their trial in Vancouver, which was revealed on Friday to have cost at least $18 million. (CBC) Bob Virk, left, and Dave Basi outside B.C. Supreme Court during their trial in Vancouver, which was revealed on Friday to have cost at least $18 million. (CBC)
B.C. Attorney General Mike de Jong says the cost of the BC Rail corruption case is $18 million.
The amount includes the $6 million paid to former government aides Dave Basi and Bobby Virk, who both pleaded guilty to corruption charges, De Jong said Friday.
He said the $18 million does not include RCMP investigation costs, which have not been made public.
The $18 million covers the costs of Crown counsel, defence, the court and document handling.
Basi and Virk, former Liberal operatives, pleaded guilty this week to charges of breach of trust and accepting a benefit in connection with the 2003 deal to privatize the former Crown-owned BC Rail.
The two men were sentenced to two years less a day of house arrest, while Basi was also fined $75,000.
File photo of Campbell, Premier of British Columbia. 
British Columbia's Premier Gordon Campbell unexpectedly announced his resignation today, calling for a party leadership convention as soon as possible. He will remain until the  caucus members select a new leader.

The Liberal Party premier gave his resignation during an unscheduled, hastily arranged press conference in Vancouver just one day ahead of a caucus meeting characterised as an emergency meeting at the city's airport. A full party convention, planned for later this month, is to be held in Penticton.

The Liberal government has been under increasing pressure since its . A particularly contentious point is the introduction of a Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) only weeks after their election victory with a campaign commitment never to implement HST.

Other scandals have dogged the party over the past year; allegations of corruption in the sale of BC Rail – itself another broken campaign promise. This was further aggravated by recent guilty pleas and convictions of David Basi and Robert Virk, and the announcement the government would pay the six million  (3.7 million , 4.2 million ) defense bills of the disgraced government aides as part of their plea-agreement to lesser charges.

It was admitted post-trial the total bill for the case was CA$ 18 million (£11 million, €12.7 million), excluding the undisclosed Canadian police investigation costs.

As yet, no other Liberal party members have announced plans to stand for the Premiership.