WASHINGTON • Veteran television host Charlie Rose has been suspended by US networks after a report by The Washington Post in which eight women accused him of years of sexual harassment.

The women, who were either employees or prospective employees of Mr Rose, told The Post that he made unwanted sexual advances towards them between the late 1990s and 2011.

Those advances included lewd phone calls, walking around naked in their presence, or groping their breasts, buttocks or genital areas, the women said.

The women were mostly in their 20s and 30s when the alleged harassment took place.

In a statement, the 75-year-old broadcaster said: "I deeply apologise for my inappropriate behaviour. I am greatly embarrassed.

"I have behaved insensitively at times, and I accept responsibility for that, though I do not believe that all of these allegations are accurate," he added.

CBS News, where he has co-hosted the CBS This Morning show since 2012 and is a contributing correspondent for the 60 Minutes news programme, said it had suspended Mr Rose, while PBS and Bloomberg said they would halt distribution of his Charlie Rose show.

"Charlie Rose is suspended immediately while we look into this matter. These allegations are extremely disturbing, and we take them very seriously," a CBS News spokesman said in a statement.

PBS, which has aired the Charlie Rose show since 1991, said it was shocked by the allegations.

"We are immediately suspending distribution of Charlie Rose," a spokesman said.

Bloomberg Television, which tapes and rebroadcasts Charlie Rose, said it had pulled the show from its television channel.

Mr Rose's eponymous show was produced by his independent television production company, Charlie Rose Inc.

A ubiquitous force in television for decades, Mr Rose is also an award-winning journalist. His 2013 interview with Syria's President Bashar al-Assad won him an Emmy Award and a Peabody prize.

Separately on Monday, The New York Times confirmed that it had suspended senior White House correspondent Glenn Thrush after news website Vox reported that he engaged in sexually inappropriate behaviour on his previous job at Politico.

In the article, three women said the 50-year-old had made unwanted contact or advances towards them.

"The alleged behaviour is very concerning and not in keeping with the standards and values of The New York Times," the paper's statement read. "We intend to fully investigate and while we do, Glenn will be suspended."

WASHINGTON POST, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NYTIMES