The mother of James Foley, the American journalist who was murdered in Syria last year, has reportedly forgiven his killer.

Mohammed Emwazi, who up until yesterday was known as 'Jihadi John', has boasted of beheading Western hostages, including Foley.

Diane Foley told the Times newspaper she forgave Emwazi. "It saddens me - his continued hatred. He felt wronged, now we hate him - now that just prolongs the hatred. We need to end it."

She added: "As a mum, I forgive him. You know, the whole thing is tragic."

Other relatives of Emwazi's victims took a very different view. A statement issued by the family of Steven Sotloff, an American journalist who was murdered in Syria last year, said they were relishing the prospect of his killer facing justice.

James Foley has been described as a 'brave and tireless journalist'. He was abducted in Syria in November 2012, while reporting on the civil war for Agence France-Press and US media company GlobalPost.

His vehicle was stopped by militants on his way through northern Syria. He was never seen again and a video released in August showed his beheading.

Diane and John Foley have been critical of the US response to their son's abduction saying they were kept in the dark and warned to not intervene.

"For one year we didn't know where he was or if he was alive," John Foley told reporters earlier this week. "We didn't have anyone in the government to go to," said Diane.

The Foleys want an organization to the US to advocate for American hostages and their families. They still keep a candle in the window at their home in Rochester as well as the yellow ribbons and have vowed to support journalists working in war zones.

Reacting to the murder of their son last August John Foley said: "We know Jimmy's free. He's finally free. And we know he's in God's hands ... and we know he's in Heaven."