Former US president George Bush senior has been forced to apologise after an actress accused him of sexual assault.

Heather Lind said in a since deleted Instagram post that the 93-year-old former president “touched me from behind from his wheelchair” and told a “dirty joke” while posing for a photo.

A spokesman for Mr Bush said the incident was an attempt at humour.

“President Bush would never – under any circumstance – intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologises if his attempt at humour offended Ms Lind,” the spokesman said in a statement.

Mr Bush served one term as US president from 1989 to 1993, and is the father of George W Bush, who served two terms in the office between 2001 and 2009.

He suffers from a form of Parkinson’s disease.

A later statement from the former president;’s office said since Mr Bush is confined to a wheelchair, “his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures”.

“To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke – and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner,” the statement read.

“Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. To anyone he has offended, President Bush apologies most sincerely.”

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Ms Lind, who appears in the US drama Turn: Washington’s Spies, said the incident allegedly took place during an event for the television show.

In her Instagram post, Ms Lind said she was spurred to make the claim after seeing a photo of Barack Obama shaking Mr Bush Senior’s hand at a recent fundraiser for hurricane victims, which she said had “disturbed” her.

“He sexually assaulted me while I was posing for a similar photo. He didn’t shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side,” she wrote, according to People’s transcript of the deleted post.

“He told me a dirty joke. And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again,” she added.

The photoshoot during which the wheelchair-bound Mr Bush allegedly assaulted Ms Lind to his left. Photo: Pinterest

Ms Lind continued, writing, “Barbara [Bush] rolled her eyes as if to say “not again”. His security guard told me I shouldn’t have stood next to him for the photo.

“We were instructed to call him Mr President. It seems to me a president’s power is in his or her capacity to enact positive change, actually help people, and serve as a symbol of our democracy.”

Ms Lind ended her post with the hashtag #metoo, which has been adopted by victims of sexual assault sharing their experiences in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein Hollywood scandal.

“What comforts me is that I too can use my power, which isn’t so different from a president really,” she said.

“I am grateful for the bravery of other women who have spoken up and written about their experiences.”