A group of doctors is making a fresh bid to force an inquest into the death of the weapons inspector David Kelly.

Legal papers are expected to be submitted to the attorney general, Dominic Grieve, by the end of next week, requesting his authorisation for the five doctors to go to the high court to seek a full inquest into the 2003 death of the scientist.

If Grieve refuses to grant the authorisation, his decision could be subject to a high court appeal.

The doctors have conducted a long-running campaign to overturn the decision of the then lord chancellor, Lord Falconer, to suspend an inquest before the Hutton inquiry into the circumstances of Kelly's death. The inquest was not resumed after Hutton's report in 2004 concluded that Kelly killed himself by cutting an artery in his wrist.

His body was found in woods near his Oxfordshire home shortly after it was revealed he had been the source of a BBC report casting doubt on the government's claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that could be fired within 45 minutes.

The latest move was prompted by an interview given last month by pathologist Nicholas Hunt, who carried out an autopsy on Kelly's body.

Hunt told the Sunday Times that he regarded the case as a "textbook" suicide and disclosed details from his postmortem report, which the Hutton inquiry ordered should be kept secret for 70 years.

He found "big clots" of blood on the inside of Kelly's jacket, contrary to reports that there had been little blood at the scene. There were about a dozen cuts on his left wrist, including shallower cuts made before the main incisions.

Kelly's heart disease was so advanced that he could have died at any moment, according to the report.

Barrister Michael Powers QC, who is acting for the group of doctors, said Hunt's comments gave weight to their argument that Hutton's inquiry did not represent a sufficient examination of the cause of Kelly's death.

Powers said: "The media has now presented evidence which we have never had before. The fact that he felt it necessary to go to the press and say these things proves to us that the inquiry was insufficient."

The doctors are awaiting a decision from the justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, as to whether the ruling should be overturned to allow them to see the report.

They insist an inquest is needed to clear up any doubt over whether he was the victim of foul play.

Grieve has called for papers relating to Kelly's death and is considering whether he should himself order an inquest.

But Powers said: "We can't wait indefinitely for the government to make a decision. Hence the decision to lay formal papers."