Mr McClelland will today meet Jim Unkles, a military lawyer and commander in the Australian Naval Reserve, who is leading the campaign on behalf of the descendants of Morant and his co-accused, Peter Handcock and George Witton.

Mr Unkles believes he has vital new evidence showing Morant and the others were victims of a miscarriage of justice and subsequent cover-up by the British authorities.

Among the crucial documents he has unearthed is an opinion from a British military lawyer at the time, James St Clair, mentioning that soldiers had been ordered not to take prisoners.

Mr Unkles said regardless of the time that had passed since Morant and Handcock faced the firing squad in Pretoria jail (Witton's death sentence was commuted), the men deserved justice.

"I'll be telling the Attorney-General directly that after 110 years of no action, controversy and stalling by the British government, this case needs a judicial inquiry," he said. "The descendants want their day in court. There's no request for compensation they just want honour for these three men.

"The government hopefully will take a stand. The descendants of these men and all Australians want justice and that must be put above all other considerations."

Michael Handcock is the great-great grandson of Peter Handcock. He said holding a public inquiry into his relative's death was "a no-brainer".

"This issue has been a bone of contention in our family for over a hundred years," he said. "The British government has fobbed us off on the basis of no new evidence but that's just not true."

Mr McClelland confirmed that his office was examining the new material presented by Mr Unkles and others.

"I've received a number of pieces of correspondence from descendants of Breaker Morant and other advocates regarding the possible existence of new evidence," he said. "I don't want to raise expectations in relation to this matter, but I'm happy to discuss these issues in good faith with family and legal representatives."

However, he added that Australia had no jurisdiction to review decisions made by a British court martial.