Conservative solicitor David Jones has been officially appointed the newest member of the Welsh Assembly.

The Llandudno-based lawyer succeeds Rod Richards as North Wales AM - but only for eight months.

David Jones: Assembly challenge

Controversial former Tory party leader in the assembly, Mr Richards resigned earlier this month on health grounds.

The former Clwyd West MP and minister in the UK Government, he said he was standing down from frontline politics to continue his fight against alcoholism.

Mr Jones, 50, who fought for a parliamentary seat at Conwy in the 1997 general election and Chester in 2001, had been next in line on the regional list.

He will take his place in Cardiff until the second assembly election next May.

However, he does not intend to seek reselection at the May poll.

Rod Richards; Fighting alcoholism

Assembly Presiding Officer Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas said: "I am delighted to welcome David Jones to the assembly and I wish him well in his new role.

"He brings a wealth of political and legal experience to the assembly."

Under the political system used by the assembly, Mr Jones does not have to be elected by constituents.

He came just behind Mr Richards in the regional "top-up" list drawn up for the first election in 1999.

The system was introduced to ensure that there were no wasted votes.

The party which polled the fewest local votes would still take up seats in order to achieve proportional representation.

Mr Jones will now join the Welsh Conservatives' seven other regional members in the assembly chamber.

The Tories have just one member elected by the conventional first-past-the-post method - Monmouthshire's David Davies.