The body which managed Grenfell Tower is handing over responsibility for thousands of properties to Kensington and Chelsea Council, saying it can no longer deliver services effectively.

The Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO or TMO) wrote to residents announcing it would temporarily hand back control for the homes it managed on behalf of the local authority.

Its future has hung in the balance for several months after the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) stripped it of responsibility over the Grenfell Tower estate.

Survivors of the fire at the west London block, which killed 71, managed to postpone a vote which could have seen the council end all arrangements with the arms-length firm in October.

Chairwoman Fay Edwards wrote in a letter dated December 22: "The TMO board has reluctantly decided that it can no longer guarantee that it can fulfil its obligations with respect to the delivery of services contained in its contract with the council (known as the modular management agreement or MMA) to a standard that residents should expect.