Hostel fire confession 'not made under duress'

A court hearing an appeal by a man serving a life sentence for starting a fire that killed 15 young backpackers, including one Irish girl, in eastern Australia was today told that his confession was not made under duress.

Robert Paul Long, 39, was found guilty in March of murder and arson for a blaze that engulfed a hostel in Childers, a small farming community in the state of Queensland, in June 2000. Along with the Irish girl, seven Britons, three from Australia, two from the Netherlands and one each from South Korea and Japan perished in the flames.