MP Craig Mackinlay has called on Thanet Council leader Chris Wells to resign following today's report on Manston Airport.

The MP said: “He who pays the piper calls the tune. This bogus report seems custom built to provide excuses for Chris Well’s broken promises.

"We all made promises in 2015 before the election and the public quite rightly expect us to deliver them. When politicians break their promises the public’s confidence is broken."

"Saving Manston as an airport was well within the grasp of this TDC administration through a Compulsory Purchase Order.

"This decision is a complete betrayal of the people of Thanet and Chris Wells must do the honourable thing and resign."

The chairman of the Save Manston Airport Association has said he believes the airport will still reopen.

Reacting to the news that TDC leader Cllr Chris Wells has withdrawn the council's support for the project he said: "We have had no faith in Chris Wells wishing the airport to open for a long time.

Dr Beau Webber spoke out after a report commissioned by Thanet District Council (TDC) was published this afternoon which said it is "unlikely to be financially viable".

"We believe it will reopen with RiverOak as a nationally strategic airport.

"The crucial point is that people of Thanet really want the airport back and the second point is that TDC have done two reports, one in 2014.

"The people want to wait for the RiverOak report, it's worth waiting another two or three weeks for."

Dr Webber dismissed some of the recommendations in the dossier saying "Some of the assumptions in the report are very strange.

"It says that either Gatwick or Heathrow will have a new runway in the space of 10 years."

He believes the report makes no difference to American investment firm RiverOak's bid to reopen the site with a Development Consent Order.

The order, if granted, would give Manston the status of a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project.

Meanwhile Ruth Bailey, the chairman of the Supporters of Manston Airport, said: "We are very disappointed in the report, we hadn't expected it.

"We'd thought they would see the viability of it.

"It doesn't seem to understand the cargo side and focuses a lot on passengers, which we all knew wouldn't work anyway.

"We need time to digest this and work out where we'll go from here."

Stone Hill Park spokesman Ray Mallon said: "Stone Hill Park welcomes the publication of this report.

"We intend to consider its contents carefully and will be making a full statement in due course.”

Former Thanet councillor Ian Driver, a supporter of the Stone Hill Park development, wrote in his blog: “While I pay tribute to the hundreds of people who campaigned so hard to save Manston airport over the past few years, there is now overwhelming evidence to demonstrate that an airport on the Manston site would not be viable.

"It’s now time to move on and support alternative uses for the Manston site”.

“I believe the plans submitted by Stone Hill Park provide the best option for the site.

"The proposals will create hundreds of desperately-needed jobs and training opportunities for local people and will promote more inward investment and regeneration opportunities which is just what Thanet needs right now.

“Although I understand that many people will be saddened and frustrated by the AVIA report we all have to accept that we live in a rapidly-changing world and we need to adapt."