The leader of Thanet council says there have been “real breakthroughs” in the negotiations over an attempt at a buyout of Manston airport.

But Cllr Chris Wells (Ukip) has also told campaigners not to put sensitive commercial negotiations at risk saying public speculation about what was being discussed had been "an extreme hindrance and distraction".

The comments were made in a reply to an email sent by a member of the Save Manston Airport Group asking why progress on a potential compulsory purchase order (CPO) was slow. The response by Cllr Wells was then posted on Facebook.

In his reply, Cllr Wells appeals for the council to be allowed to get on with negotiations without constant speculation.

“We are doing just what you request. Sadly, the campaigners seem to believe in commercial negotiations being conducted in public and over the last seven days have been an extreme hindrance and distraction to the negotiation. A period of silent contemplation would not hurt.”

He then signs off by suggesting the council is making progress in its discussions with the American consortium RiverOak, which has pledged to cover the costs of any CPO.

“Keep the faith. There are real breakthroughs being made.”

There are rumours the council is set to hold a special cabinet meeting within weeks to decide whether or not to push ahead with a CPO.

The mood of optimism among campaigners comes after speculation the council was becoming frustrated in its talks with RiverOak.

The authority recently issued a statement saying it had made a “final demand” to the company for financial information needed to assess its credentials.

That in turn led RiverOak to confirm it had paid $2m into a UK bank account to cover the costs.

North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale, said: “I can see no reason why Thanet council’s officers should not now authorise the signing of the indemnity agreement necessary to trigger the CPO application and no reason why that should not then be approved at a special cabinet meeting in a week's time.”

Meanwhile, the council could face questions about how the former Labour-run authority dealt with an earlier proposal for a CPO.

The leader at the time, Cllr Iris Johnston, will call on a backbench scrutiny committee to investigate why government consultants called in to review the process were not provided with 20 council documents to help its inquiry.

Thanet council said it would not comment on what the breakthroughs referred to are.