A longtime BC Liberal MLA who recently quit the party to join the BC Conservatives wants intervenor status in a lawsuit involving the BC Rail scandal.

On Monday, Abbotsford South MLA John van Dongen applied to the B.C. Supreme Court to intervene in the suit filed by the provincial Auditor General.

The Auditor General is seeking a court order to see all documents relating to the government's decision to pay six million dollars in legal fees for Dave Basi and Bob Virk. Both men, former ministerial aides, admitted to leaking secret documents with details about the sale of BC Rail 10 years ago.

The suit also calls for any documents relating to other government employees who had legal fees covered by the province to be made available to the Auditor General.

Van Dongen said a key issue is whether claims of confidentiality or lawyer-client privilege will prevent the Auditor General from accessing key documents and information.

The motion asking for intervenor status will be heard in court June 1.

Van Dongen cited questions about the BC Rail sale as one of the reasons he left the BC Liberals in March and joined the BC Conservatives an hour later.