'˜I will get us out of this mess' a humbled May tells Tory MPs

The Prime Minister sought to reassure party members ahead of a crunch meeting tomorrow, in which she will work to finalise a deal with the DUP to strengthen her fragile majority in the Commons.

It follows a day of turmoil in Government, as Downing Street cast doubt on the timing of next week’s Queen’s Speech and Brexit Secretary David Davis admitted crucial EU negotiations will not begin on Monday as planned.

However Tory MPs were tonight suggesting a “humble” Mrs May has “bought herself time” with her critics, after convincing them of her determination to turn the party’s situation around.

Speaking in the wake of a meeting of the party’s 1922 Committee, MPs described the Prime Minister’s mood as “confident” but “authentic” as she acknowledged the mistakes that had been made during the election campaign.

The gathering of backbench MPs had been brought forward by 24 hours in response to the scale of concern around last week’s election result and plans to form an alliance with the DUP.

On her way into the packed committee room, a visibly nervous Mrs May managed only the briefest smiles to the reporters waiting outside. By the time she emerged from the meeting more than an hour later, the Conservative leader appeared triumphant.

Mrs May’s days were thought to be numbered after last week’s result, with some sources pointing to a Tory leadership contest in the summer.

It has also been suggested that Mrs May could be forced to “prune” some policies from her manifesto ahead of Monday’s Queens Speech, in order to increase its chances of safe passage through the Commons.

Earlier today it emerged the state opening of Parliament could be pushed back from the scheduled date of June 19, in anticipation of potential difficulties securing a “confidence and supply” arrangement with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

But Mrs May is due to meet with DUP leader Arlene Foster tomorrow, after which it is hoped they will confirm a deal.

A number of Tory MPs have expressed concerns about an alliance with the highly conservative group, whose members oppose gay marriage and have called for creationism to be “taught in every school”.

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson, the first openly gay party leader in British politics, has already sought assurances from Downing Street that the deal will not affect LGBT rights.

The talks have also drawn criticism from Sinn Fein, who claim the UK Government can no longer cast itself as a neutral facilitator in efforts to restore a power-sharing executive in Stormont.

However, according to some of those who attended Monday’s 1922 meeting, the Prime Minister’s appearance went a significant way toward restoring confidence in her leadership.

One MP reported that Mrs May accepted responsibility for the poor timing of her controversial social care policy during the campaign, and that her conciliatory tone during the meeting “bought herself a good deal of time”.

Another said the Prime Minister’s speech was “spot on” as she told the party “I got us into this mess, and now I’ll get us out of it”.