An MP whose elderly Black Country uncle’s tragic death has been declared an accident following a two-year murder investigation today labelled the conclusion “an unlikely story”.

Leslie Ince, uncle to Hammersmith and Fulham MP Greg Hands, was discovered in a cupboard with a 14-inch barbecue skewer embedded in his neck on February 21, 2007.

The 80-year-old from Walsall died six weeks later and a murder investigation was launched. But yesterday detectives said it was now believed to be an accident, and that Mr Ince impaled himself after suffering a stroke and becoming confused.

There were no signs of forced entry, of stolen belongings or witnesses.

Today, the second anniversary of the attack on Mr Ince, Conservative MP Mr Hands said relatives were waiting to hear the truth from an inquest, which is to be held next month.”The accident theory seems quite unlikely but then again my grandad was a very nice man and I couldn’t see why anyone would want to murder him,” Mr Hands told the Express & Star.

“An inquest into his death will take place on March 26 and so as a family we want to wait to see what the outcome of that is before we make any further judgements. As a family we are trying to keep an open mind.”

Mr Ince muttered the words “they just came into my house” to ambulance staff before he died in Walsall Manor Hospital on April 2007.

But police said this was likely to be a result of his confused state.

Last year Mr Hands made a fresh appeal for information into his uncle’s death saying he believed it was a burglary that went wrong and not a premeditated murder.

The last time Mr Hands saw his uncle was in 2005 when he came to London for his wedding.

He said: “My Uncle Les was just a very nice man and I do have some very fond memories of him. He would visit me and my family when we Iived in Looe in Cornwall. He was very generous with me and the rest of my family.”