The new US. ambassador to the Netherlands has apologised for a fake claim about fake news.

Pete Hoekstra was filmed in 2015 saying there are "no-go" zones in the Netherlands and extremists bringing "chaos" to Europe.

After arriving in the Netherlands for his new post, he was interviewed this week by a Dutch TV journalist who asked him about the "no-go" comment.

Hoekstra denied saying it, calling the journalist's claim "fake news."

The TV show then showed him clips of the 2015 comments.

Hoekstra on Saturday tweeted his regrets about the exchange in the Nieuwsuur program, saying "please accept my apology."

He also insisted on his passion about "confronting the threat of terrorism."

Hoekstra is a former Republican congressman from Michigan who was born in the Netherlands.