Efforts to get more black people into top roles in British businesses have moved slowly the last six years, a business group has said.

Only 1.5% of top managers at British private companies are black, even though more than 3% of people in England and Wales are black.

The figure has improved since 2014, when 1.4% of top managers were black.

But it shows that there is still a long way to go, said Sandra Kerr, race director at Business in the Community, which launched a campaign for improve representation 25 years ago.

“It is clear that black people continue to be under-represented at a senior level,” she said.

“This lack of diverse leadership has a direct impact on decision-making.

“This is more crucial than ever when the evidence shows that BAME people continue to be disproportionately affected by Covid-19.”

“Black livelihoods matter and employers need to take urgent action to ensure that their organisation is inclusive and a place where people of any ethnic background can thrive and succeed.”

The data from Business in the Community was released to coincide with the 72nd anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush, which brought Caribbean migrants to the UK.

But this year the anniversary also coincides with global protests against racial inequality, sparked by the death of an unarmed black man in police custody in the US.

The figures show that 1% of public sector leaders are black, while 62% of the boards of charities have only white directors.

They also reveal that black employees are only 1% of journalists, senior civil servants, judges, academics and police are black.

However, political representation has improved significantly since 2010, when only 27 MPs identified as Black, Asian or Minority Ethnic (BAME).

Today there are 65 serving MPs who identify as a member of a BAME community.