Welcome to Hard Talk from the BBC World Service with me, Stephen Sacker. My guest today spent most of her

life devoted to her family. She raised five children and her work as a nurse practitioner in the

quiet and calm of New Hampshire in America's northeast. But then Diane Foley's eldest son, James, pursued his vocation, journalism,

to one of the world's most dangerous places, northern Syria, in 2012, and her world changed

forever. James was kidnapped by militants from the so-called Islamic State Group.

Along with a handful of other Western hostages, James was held in desperate conditions,

tortured and abused. His captors demanded a ransom of more than $100 million for his release.

The Obama administration was adamant. There would be no negotiations, no payout. Other European hostages were released as deals were done, but for James Foley, there was no way out. In August 2014,

I.S. released a horrifying video. Foley, in an orange jumpsuit, was forced to read out a statement justifying his own

execution. He was then beheaded. Since then, Diane Foley has been on an extraordinary journey.

To try to make sense of her son's death, she met one of the Islamist fanatics who held him,

now serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

She also committed herself to a campaign to change the U.S. government approach to citizens-held prisoner for leverage by America's enemies.

And her voice has carried weight.

In a host of more recent cases, the U.S. has negotiated to get citizens

home. But those joyful homecomings have also raised a question. Is any price worth paying to free

an American? Well, Diane Foley joins me now. Welcome to Hard Talk. Thank you. It's an honor, Stephen.

It's a great pleasure to talk to you. Obviously, this conversation is going to be difficult,

but with the passage of time, now 10 years since your son James was so brutally murdered,

does it become easier to talk about it? I love to talk about Jim because I'm very

proud of him. I'm proud of the man he became and his desire to make a difference by being a

journalist. So I enjoy talking about Jim. Tell me about that desire of his to be a journalist, because he was

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