Ukip leader Nigel Farage has leapt to the defence of the beleaguered leader of Thanet council, saying he is a victim of a dirty campaign designed to break up the Ukip group who remain in charge.

His dramatic intervention follows the defection of a fifth Ukip councillor this week that cost the party overall control of the council.

Jeff Elenor, who represents Margate, said he had quit because of his concern about the lack of progress in seeking a CPO for the former airport, a key election pledge.

Mr Farage issued a statement tonight saying some of the lobbying over the issue had been less than honest.

"There have been many extremely unfair things said about Chris Wells. UKIP won Thanet District Council on a ticket of doing what was possible to get Manston re-opened. For this to work, and for the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) process to be successful, we needed full co-operation with the proposed indemnity partner, Riveroak."

"It has become a very dirty campaign against Chris Wells" - Ukip leader Nigel Farage

He added: "At every stage Chris has sought appropriate legal advice, and the necessary guarantees to protect Council taxpayers of Thanet, to give the CPO the maximum chance of success."

The statement by Mr Farage went on to say:

"Never before in my political career have I seen the kind of lobbying which has been indulged in during this process. No doubt local politicians, and their national parties, have axes to grind and Riveroak naturally has its own commercial interests."

"The lobbying has sought to break up the Ukip group. Some of the lobbying appears less than honest and much of it vicarious. It has become a very dirty campaign against Chris Wells."

He said a cabinet meeting was scheduled for the end of October to decide whether the council should proceed with a CPO. At that meeting "a great deal of light will be shone on the situation to show why Chris Wells has done everything correctly."

The statement ended: "For my part I really question the motives of those behind all this sniping: do they really want an active airport or is there a more lucrative alternative in mind?"

It is the first public declaration from Mr Farage in a week that has seen a number of unexpected twists in the saga.

The US firm RiverOak said negotiations over Manston Airport’s future had hit rock bottom, with investors accusing Thanet council’s leader of “throwing roadblocks in front of us”.

US firm RiverOak is offering to partner with the local authority to buy and run the airport.

It needs Thanet District Council to serve a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on the site’s current owners, who want to redevelop it for business and residential use.