Thanet District Council says it still needs more information about investors who are being lined up to pay for a possible compulsory purchase of Manston airport.

It comes as campaigners have complained the council is dragging its feet over whether to force a buyout from the current owners.

The accusation comes as the Ukip leader of the council Chris Wells reiterated his frustration with the campaigners, saying they were failing to grasp the complexities of the process and hinted that a decision was not imminent.

And in a development that indicates the process may be stalling, the council issued a statement today saying RiverOak had not provided enough detail about two investors who would provide the financial backing.

The statement said: "Following a final request for financial evidence promised by Riveroak, Thanet District Council’s solicitors have now reviewed the information submitted by the company last Friday."

"An important part of this process is for the council to seek financial assurances from Riveroak given the significant financial risk of pursuing a compulsory purchase order (CPO) by a publicly-funded authority."

It went on: "Two redacted letters were provided which do not identify the names or addresses of the investors which RiverOak suggests could provide the financial security required.

"This approach to providing information in a redacted format is, for a local authority, highly unusual and prevents it from being able to gather any financial assurance from it.

"As a consequence the council has now asked for confirmation of the bond agreement as

“Campaigners fill the airwaves and internet stratosphere with demands to sign up now for a CPO. I wish our life and function as a district council were that simple..." - Cllr Chris Wells

Cllr Wells said he had a lot of respect for those striving to save Manston and understood their frustration but the legal process was not simple.

Earlier in the week, it emerged that he had told one campaigner that those backing the buyout were proving an extreme hindrance and appealed to them not to give a running commentary on the process.

In a newspaper article, he said: “Campaigners fill the airwaves and internet stratosphere with demands to sign up now for a CPO.

"Their vocal support for the remaining candidate from the council’s soft market testing for potential indemnity partners is loud and consistent, treating the potential partner as a white knight on a white horse whose word and bond must be trusted and accepted at face value.

"I wish our life and function as a district council were that simple.”

The Save Manston Airport group said there should be no more preconditions for talks with RiverOak.

In a statement to the council, it said: "More than 100 days have passed since you were elected - long past time that the whole council cabinet sat down with RiverOak and both sides' lawyers, and you all had a sensible discussion. Why the repeated delays ?"

There have been reports of tensions within the Ukip group after it emerged that the council had tried to discourage a meeting between RiverOak and Ramsgate Town Council - which is led by Ukip - last night.

Several members of the town council are also Ukip district councillors.