City of London chief tops UK Black Powerlist

Ian Thomas, chief executive of the City of London Corporation, has been named the UK's most influential Black Briton in this year's Black Powerlist awards.

The 57-year old is the first Black person to oversee the Square Mile's governing body in its more than 900-year history.

The City of London Corporation is an administrative body with responsibility for London's central financial district, headed by its own Lord Mayor.

Thomas tops the 2027 Black Powerlist, which recognises the most powerful people of African and Caribbean heritage in the UK.

The award body said he was "a respected public-service leader with over 30 years' experience in local government".