Theresa May has told Tory MPs “I’m the person who got us into this mess and I’m the one who will get us out of it”, two sources present at the Conservative backbench 1922 Committee meeting have confirmed.
Tory MPs banged tables for around 25 seconds and briefly cheered as the Prime Minister arrived at the crunch meeting inside the Palace of Westminster.
Read more: No.10 brushes aside Nicola Sturgeon's call for cross-party 'four nation' approach to Brexit
It came amid suggestions from some of Mrs May’s own MPs that she would have to stand down as PM after a disastrous General Election in which the Tories lost their majority and are now having to turn to the Democratic Unionist Party for support to continue governing.
One Tory MP who left the meeting midway through said there was no mood among colleagues for another leadership contest and that Mrs May spoke very well, adding “none of the Maybot”.
The MP said one of the biggest cheers at the meeting came for the “greatly respected” Gavin Barwell, the PM’s new chief of staff, who will have a “great deal of influence” alongside Chief Whip Gavin Williamson in the new government.
Read more: No.10 brushes aside Nicola Sturgeon's call for cross-party 'four nation' approach to Brexit
Mr Barwell has replaced Mrs May’s key aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, whose resignations were reportedly demanded by Tory MPs as the price of their supporting the PM.
Mrs May also assured MPs that the DUP would not have any sway over policy on LGBT rights and any “confidence and supply” deal with them would not have any effect on talks aiming to restore the powersharing Northern Ireland government, the MP said.
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