The leader of Thanet council has rejected claims that he is stalling over a pledge to force a buyout of the former Manston airport.

Ukip leader Chris Wells has dismissed criticisms levelled at him by the American company that wants to join forces with the council to pursue a Compulsory Purchase Order for Manston.

The increasingly strained relations between the council and RiverOak erupted into a full scale row at the weekend.

RiverOak bosses vented their frustration about the slow progress in talks and accused Mr Wells of having no interest in taking the CPO forward.

George Yerrall, the chief executive of the US investor, rebutted a letter from Mr Wells, listing eight issues the council says need to be resolved before it could be confident there was no risk to the taxpayer.

In a statement, Cllr Wells has today retaliated to insist he still wanted to pursue a CPO.

"I, too, want to proceed, but can only do so when the agreement is right..." - Ukip leader Cllr Chris Wells

“I understand George Yerrall of RiverOak finds the questions asked of him, at his own request, about liability concerns, ‘without merit’. He is perfectly entitled to his view. He is not, however, perfectly entitled to evade the questions, which emanate from recent legal advice on the gaps and omissions in RiverOak’s approach to CPO procedure.”

The statement added: “To be successful any CPO must conform to government procedure, with appropriate safeguards in place, some of which are not fully represented in RiverOak’s current proposals."

"I, too, want to proceed, but can only do so when the agreement is right.”

Meanwhile, the North Thanet MP Sir Roger Gale weighed in to the row by effectively calling on Ukip councillors to stage a coup and replace Mr Wells.

He said: “I hope that a new, responsible and honourable administration may be formed under fresh leadership so that the aspirations of the people of Thanet in respect of the future of Manston as an operational airport may be realised.”

He added: "An Indemnity Agreement has been drawn up which satisfies the need to protect tax payers and there is the sum of $2 million sitting in a UK bank account, to be topped up to £2 million, to meet the costs of the compulsory purchase process."

The row over the CPO is expected to be debated at a full council meeting on Thursday.