The Westway Trust was part of the "collective response" in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire in 2017

A charity that helped victims of the Grenfell tragedy has been deemed institutionally racist after an independent review.

The Westway Trust, which manages land under the Westway road for the local community, commissioned a review in 2018 over allegations of racism.

The review found the trust had a "legacy of institutional racism" and should make a formal public apology.

The trust issued an apology to the entire community on publication of the report.

The report by the Tutu Foundation, an organisation that provides mediation services, found that, given all the evidence, the trust "has been and remains institutionally racist".

"The legacy of institutional racism lives within the organisation in terms of the perceptions and relations with the African Caribbean community, which has led to a continuing mistrust.

"The trust has failed to understand, identify and address racial disparity in terms of key functions including in relation to service delivery and employment," the review said.

It added the charity had "lost sight of the reason for its establishment and early focus on community and inclusivity", while anyone who had "sounded the alarm" about issues over the years had been ignored or silenced.

The review recommended a "reparatory justice approach" should be taken by the charity, which could include the offer of compensation to affected communities.

It also recommended the creation of a centre for civil rights and culture, which it said could be "a way for the rich history of the area to be preserved and curated for future generations".

Chair of trustees Toby Laurent Belson said

trustees would now "take the organisation through the changes necessary to bring about reparative and restorative justice".

"Those changes will take time," he said. "We look ahead to working with and representing our community as never before, so that in time we may be the organisation our community deserves."

The Westway Trust was created nearly 50 years ago to manage the 23 acres of space under the elevated trunk road in west London. It was part of the collective response to the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in 2017.