George Bush Snr 'squeezed my butt hard': Third woman accuses former US president of groping

An author has come forward accusing the former US president George HW Bush of groping her, the third such allegation to be made this week.

The British-born novelist Christina Baker Kline said in an online article that wheelchair-bound Bush "squeezed my butt hard" during a photoshoot in 2014.

In the article published in Slate, Kline shared an image of the incident, which shows Bush's hand placed on her rear, with her husband stood on the other side.

The incident is said to have taken place at a fundraiser in Houston, Texas when the former president was aged 90-years-old.

Kline then alleged that a friend of the Bush family afterwards told her to be "discreet" about the incident.

She is the third woman to accuse Bush of sexual assault.

At the start of the week, the television actress Heather Lind said that Bush "touched" her from behind.

And stage actress Jordana Grolnick groped her in 2016, announcing that his favourite magician was "David Cop-a-Feel".

In an apology to the first two allegations, a spokesperson for Bush said that the President between 1989 and 1993 would "never under any circumstance intentionally cause anyone distress" and that he "most sincerely apologises if his attempt at humour offended Ms Lind".

The allegations have come amid a growing scandal in the US following the accusations from several actresses against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, harassment and rape.