Britain's May apologises to own MPs for election 'mess'

Prime Minister Theresa May will seek to strike a deal with a Northern Irish Protestant party to save her premiership on Tuesday as she comes under intense pressure to soften her approach to Brexit days before formal European Union divorce talks.

Prime minister Theresa May has now confirmed the party will be working with Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which secured 10 seats and will bring the total number of MPs up to 328.

"She said: "I'm the person who got us into this mess and I'm the one who is going to get us out of it", said one Conservative lawmaker who attended Monday's meeting.

Mrs May apologised to Tory MPs on Monday, accepting personal responsibility for failing to win an outright victory and sacrificing the parliamentary majority she inherited from David Cameron when she became leader past year.

The Queen's Speech had been scheduled for Monday 19 June, but will now be delayed by a few days in order for the Conservatives and the DUP to agree on a legislative plan - with several manifesto pledges expected to be watered down or abandoned. Delay would represent a highly unusual circumstance in a country where the monarch's schedule is determined months in advance.

However, when asked about whether the Brexit talks would start for real on June 19 as planned, Winterstein said: "I can not say". However, he insisted they will begin next week.

When asked about the Daily Telegraph article, Michael Gove, a minister who campaigned for Brexit, told ITV: "This is news to me".

Mr Davis also indicated "we will start down this process" by focusing on the divorce proceedings from the European Union before moving on to trade.

But in an article for the Financial Times, the EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned the United Kingdom that there is "no time to waste" to get the process - which has 18 months to run - under way. May's failure to get a majority has undercut her tough Brexit strategy, which had raised fears that Britain was heading for a so-called "hard Brexit", which could potentially see tariffs slapped on British exports to the bloc.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who is also touted to replace Mrs May should she be forced out, wrote in The Sun newspaper that people "have had a bellyful of promises and politicking", and that "now is the time for delivery - and Theresa May is the right person to continue that vital work".

London has said it wants formal political talks between Barnier and Brexit minister David Davis to start next Monday but it since Thursday's election it has not formally committed to the date. She moved Saturday to defuse some of the anger at her leadership style and her habit of relying heavily on a small circle of advisers by parting ways with her two closest aides, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy.

But it was also one they wished she had deployed more during the seven-week election campaign, when her double-digit lead in the polls collapsed as she was widely mocked as a "Maybot" for sticking doggedly to an agreed script.

May also restored former Justice Secretary Michael Gove to the Cabinet in another move created to show she was willing to listen to critics. Anna Soubry, a former minister who campaigned last June for Britain to stay in the European Union during the Brexit referendum, said May's position was "untenable".

A minority party has an agreement with another party or parties to ensure it wins votes of confidence - generally considered on the Queen's Speech and on the Budget.

"Overall, we believe that the election outcome will hamper Brexit negotiations and increase fiscal risks, and therefore be negative for the U.K.'s credit profile", Moody's said in a statement.

But as business leaders demand a rethink of Brexit, it remains unclear what direction the twisting and turning May will take. "May would not have countenanced previously, and which would be positive".