'I'm sorry': Theresa May apologises to MPs who lost their seats in election gamble

Theresa May has said she is "sorry" for Conservative MPs who lost their seats after her General Election gamble backfired.
Prime Minister Theresa May, accompanied by her husband Philip, makes a statement in Downing Street after she travelled to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II following the General Election results.Dominic Lipinski/PA WirePrime Minister Theresa May, accompanied by her husband Philip, makes a statement in Downing Street after she travelled to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II following the General Election results.Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire
Prime Minister Theresa May, accompanied by her husband Philip, makes a statement in Downing Street after she travelled to Buckingham Palace for an audience with Queen Elizabeth II following the General Election results.Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

The Prime Minister said the unseated MPs - including eight ministers - had not deserved to be ousted as she saw her Commons majority wiped out.

"I am sorry for those candidates and hard-working party workers who weren't successful but also particularly sorry for those colleagues who were MPs or ministers who had contributed so much to our country and who lost their seats and didn't deserve to lose their seats."

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Mrs May acknowledged that she had gone into the election - which she did not have to call for another three years - hoping for a "large" majority.

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"As I reflect on the result, I will reflect on what we need to do in the future to take the party forward," she said in a broadcast interview

Earlier, following an audience with the Queen, Mrs May said she would seek to lead a minority government supported by the Democratic Unionists (DUP).

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"What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons," she said in a statement on the steps of No 10.

"As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years, and this gives me the confidence to believe that we will be able to work together in the interests of the whole United Kingdom."