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

PanARMENIAN.Net - British Prime Minister Theresa May took the blame for the ruling Conservatives' disastrous performance at last week's elections, as she faced her party's angry MPs on Monday, June 12, seeking to ward off any challenge to her leadership, AFP reveals.

"I got us into this mess, and I'm going to get us out," May told Conservatives MPs during the meeting in Westminster.

May's Conservatives unexpectedly lost their majority in parliament in Thursday's snap general election, causing political chaos ahead of Brexit talks with the European Union set to start next week and prompting calls -- from within her own party -- for her resignation.

But one MP present at the meeting said there was no discussion of a leadership contest, adding "she's won, she's got to be prime minister".

The chaos has also weighed on the pound, which has plunged almost two percent since Thursday, and the government may have to delay the announcement of its policy plans to parliament.

May vowed to stay on despite the poor results, and on Sunday unveiled a largely unchanged new cabinet, which met for the first time on Monday.

The Conservative Party fell eight seats short of retaining its parliamentary majority, and is now in talks with Northern Ireland's ultra-conservative Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) -- which won 10 seats -- to forge an informal alliance.

DUP leader Arlene Foster is due to meet May on Tuesday for crunch talks, which could force the delay of the government's presentation of its legislative programme to parliament by Queen Elizabeth II, due on June 19.