London: British Prime Minister Theresa May has temporarily shored up her support within her party, and is determined she will lead a minority Conservative government.

On Friday she visited the Queen and was granted permission to form government.

She returned to 10 Downing Street and made a short, grim-faced statement saying that she would form a government "that can provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for this country".

However many of Mrs May's colleagues told British media on Friday that they view her as a caretaker prime minister until they can think through the consequences of the party's shocking election result.

Senior figures in the Tory party including Boris Johnson and David Davis – potential replacement leaders – were noticeably silent on Friday morning.

Mrs May said the Conservatives – which secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats – were the only party that, alongside Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionists (DUP), could command a majority in parliament.

The DUP has reportedly promised to lend the Tories their 10 votes – not in coalition but as part of a looser arrangement.

This would mean the government and its ministers would all be Conservatives, rather than sharing power as they did with the Liberal Democrats seven years ago.

"Our two parties have enjoyed a strong relationship over many years," Mrs May said.

She was confident they would "be able to work together in the interests of the whole of the UK".

In a video statement released on Friday afternoon, Mr May added that she was sorry for all her colleagues, MPs and ministers "who lost their seats and didn't deserve to".

She said it was encumbent on the Conservatives to "form a government in the national interest", as they were the only party in a position to do so.

She did not directly answer a question as to whether her government would last a five-year term, or whether she would last five years at its head – but she said she would "reflect on what happened" in the election.

Mrs May's first task will be a reshuffle of her ministry, as the party lost eight ministers in the election including one cabinet minister.

Late on Friday afternoon Mrs May reinstalled the government's five senior cabinet ministers to their existing roles: Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Amber Rudd, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon.

They would be the only ministerial appointments made on Friday, Number 10 said.

Tellingly, one of the main authors of the Conservatives' 2017 election manifesto lost his seat.

Before the election Ben Gummer, the Cabinet Office Minister, had been tipped to take over the Brexit ministry, with Brexit secretary David Davis replacing Boris Johnson in the Foreign Office.

Financial secretary to the Treasury – colloquially known as the 'tax minister' Jane Ellison – lost Battersea as it swung 10 per cent to Labour.

Andrew Gimson, contributing editor to the grassroots ConservativeHome website, said Mrs May had "lost the trust of the Tory party" and they would not want to fight another election under her.

The new government was "wonderfully weak and unstable", he said, paraphrasing Mrs May's "strong and stable" election mantra.

Former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown said the Prime Minister had no mandate.

"She cannot last, her position is untenable," he said. "She has no credibility at home and no bargaining power with the European Union."

However some senior Tories said it would be unwise to change leadership with the new government in such a precarious position – risking a new election and undermining Brexit talks which are due to begin in just 10 days.

If Mrs May stays in the longer term she will likely be forced to open up Number 10 to a more consultative operation, having previously preferred to work with a tight-knit coterie of close advisers.

The DUP are a natural ally for the Conservatives. Their leader Arlene Foster, who narrowly avoided being killed by an IRA bomb as a teenager in 1988, has described Jeremy Corbyn as "beyond the pale".

Last year Ms Foster and her fellow MPs held a champagne reception at the Conservative Party conference.

On Friday DUP leader Arlene Foster told the BBC it would be "difficult for (May) to survive given that she was presumed to come back with maybe a hundred majority".

She also stopped well short of promising to support Mrs May's government.

Ms Foster delivered a short statement saying she had spoken to the prime minister and that they would "enter discussions with the Conservatives to explore how it may be possible to bring stability to our nation at this time of great challenge".

The Union was their "guiding star", she said, and the DUP would strive for the best deal for Northern Ireland and its people but also for the UK as a whole. She took no questions from the media

Senior DUP MP Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it was "much too early" to talk of a formal agreement with a minority Conservative government. Returned DUP MP for East Belfast Gavin Robinson predicted a 'confidence and supply' arrangement.

In the absence of a formal coalition, Mrs May's government would survive from vote to vote in parliament – and with such a slim majority over the progressive parties, they would be vulnerable to defeats if there were absences or a threat to cross the floor.