A bid has been launched to bar people who live outside of Wales from standing for election to the assembly.

Two former Welsh secretaries, Lord Peter Hain and Paul Murphy, want to change the law to ensure all candidates are on the Wales electoral register.

Lord Hain said being represented by people who live outside the country was "insulting to the people of Wales".

UKIP's assembly group leader AM Neil Hamilton - who lives in Wiltshire - was asked to comment.

Mr Hamilton was elected on the regional list as AM for Mid and West Wales last May.

Image caption UKIP assembly group leader Neil Hamilton lives in Wiltshire

At the time Mr Hamilton became group leader he said he lived "less than an hour from Cardiff".

"For the time being I'm living where I lived for the last 10 years," he said, adding there was a "big logistical problem to solve" about where he based himself.

Under current rules there is nothing to stop people living outside of Wales standing as a candidate for the assembly.

The proposed amendment says a person may not stand as a candidate unless they are recorded on the Welsh electoral register as "living in Wales".

Lord Hain said the current rules were an "anomaly" in the Government of Wales Act 2006 - which he said he was responsible for as Welsh secretary at the time.

Lord Hain, who moved from London when he was elected as an MP for Neath, did not criticise Mr Hamilton directly, saying he would not "personalise" the issue.

The Assembly's independent Remuneration Board is considering a change in the rules to allow AMs to claim more than £8,000 for Cardiff accommodation expenses if they live in England.

The board - which sets pay and expenses - will discuss the responses to a consultation at a meeting in November.