New York, Feb 11 - NBC chiefs have suspended anchor Brian Williams for six months without pay for telling a false war story repeatedly, putting a major blemish on the career of one of America's star newscasters.

NBC News President Deborah Turness said that they have decided today to suspend Brian Williams for six months without pay and is effective immediately and so Lester Holt will continue to substitute Anchor the NBC Nightly News, the New York Post reported.

Turness continued that while on Nightly News on January 30, 2015, Williams misrepresented events which occurred while he was covering the Iraq War in 2003 and it then became clear that on other occasions he had done the same while telling that story in other venues, which was wrong and completely inappropriate for someone in his position.

Turness added that in addition, they have concerns about comments that occurred outside NBC News while Williams was talking about his experiences in the field.

An NBC source said that Williams has been very contrite and apologetic about what has happened, but at the same time he has been resolute about getting back to work.

The insider added that Williams, who was sad when told the news today, but accepted the decision, said that he'll do everything he can to win back the trust of the public and the network.

The source said the internal investigation not only bought up questions about his reporting on NBC, but also things he had said on other networks. ( ANI)