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Theresa May declared "I got us into this mess, I'm going to get us out" tonight as she faced a showdown meeting with shellshocked backbench MPs.

The Prime Minister channelled Laurel and Hardy after arriving grim-faced at the crucial meeting of the powerful 1922 Committee.

MPs, aware of the press corps waiting outside, banged on desks for 25 seconds.

But it was considerably less than the ovation offered to David Cameron after his shock 2015 victory - and the meeting lasted more than an hour as she faced questions from survivors who saw their majorities slashed.

Mrs May apologised for MPs who lost their seats, offering them help and telling her colleagues in Parliament: "I will serve you as long as you want me."

One backbencher told the Mirror: “I think she’s bought herself a good deal of time.”

The MP added: “It was very very humble and she recognised the social care policy hadn’t worked.”

1930s comedy duo Laurel and Hardy were known for the catchphrase "here’s another nice mess you’ve gotten me into".

(Image: AFP) (Image: AFP)

Speaking outside tonight's behind-closed-doors meeting, a senior Tory MP said: "She came across I thought contrite and genuine but not on her knees at all.

"In many respects the easiest thing for her to do, understandably [with] what happened, would have been to have stood down. But that’s not in the nature of her.”

The Prime Minister was said to have drawn on her roots as a lifelong Tory, telling MPs how she stuffed envelopes aged 12.

"She spoke very well, none of the Maybot," said an MP.

Asked if the party had “full confidence” in Mrs May, the MP remarked pointedly: “I think the party’s got confidence in her”.

MPs voiced their anger over the social care debacle, with one prediction the so-called 'dementia tax' was unlikely to make it into the Queen’s Speech.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

A witness added Mrs May did not refer to quitting aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill by name - but said she had “changed my team” as she introduced new aide Gavin Barwell, at which point the room cheered.

“I think she’s given us all the strength to get firmly behind her and be the Conservative Party, the Party of government, to move forwards,” the MP said.

Two MPs reportedly complained their families were targeted during “aggressive” local campaigns, including children being heckled at school, one attendee said.

(Image: AFP)

Mrs May was also grilled about school cuts.

An ex-Minister revealed: "School cuts came up in the sense that colleagues talked about the difficulty of rebutting arguments on doorsteps and she recognised that."

Mrs May came out of the meeting smiling after she faced more than 20 questions from MPs over the course of an hour.

The issue of LGBT rights was raised after Mrs May entered talks with the anti-gay-marriage, anti-abortion DUP. She insisted the hard-right party would not get a veto on the issue.

(Image: PA)

Mrs May was also said to be "pretty firm" about the unionist party not having any extra input into fragile talks to restore power-sharing in the collapsed Northern Irish Assembly.

MPs were told the deal with the DUP was “getting there” but were not given a firm date for the Queen’s Speech.

Nationalists Sinn Fein and the Irish Prime Minister had warned it could threaten the Good Friday Agreement, which had a commitment for the British government to remain neutral in the region.

Tonight's meeting was brought forward by a day after MPs voiced concerns they did not know enough about Mrs May's fragile deal.

The scenes were in stark contrast to those just over 50 days ago when Mrs May announced there would be an election.

Then, there was banging on tables and loud chants of “five more years” as she entered the room on the Parliamentary estate.

(Image: AFP)

This time, Mrs May did not speak as she arrived to the meeting flanked by her new aide - the ousted MP Gavin Barwell.

Followed closely by protection officers, she smiled ruefully when the Mirror asked if she was feeling nervous.

She was greeted at the door by a senior MP who gripped Mrs May's hand and told her: "Still in one piece, anyway!".

Speaking after the meeting one MP, Anne-Marie Trevelyan, said: "It was very positive to hear her take very firm responsibility for not being able to crystallise some of the seats we'd hoped to win.

"I felt she had very deeply considered over the weekend whether she should continue and that she feels absolutely, and came to us to say, I will continue for as long as you want me to do so.

"And I think that's exactly what we all hoped she would say."

(Image: Getty)

A succession of MPs deployed black humour as they turned up for the uncomfortable summit.

One said: "This is scary", while another joked: "Is something going on?"

The Tory Party was left humiliated when Mrs May's gamble on an early general election ended with a shock loss of 13 seats, costing them control over the House of Commons.

Mrs May reshuffled her cabinet yesterday - demoting Justice Secretary Liz Truss and bringing Brexit back-stabber Michael Gove back into the heart of government to appease Brexiteers.

But she faced calls to stand down - and former Chancellor George Osborne referred to her as a "dead man walking" .

In an interview yesterday evening, Mrs May vowed to carry on as Prime Minister but did not give a straight-forward answer when asked whether she will serve five full years.

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Beth Rigby from Sky News asked the PM: "In terms of your intentions for Number 10, some of your colleagues have been suggesting that you might be a caretaker Prime Minister.

"Just to be clear, for the record, do you intend to serve a full term?"

Mrs May replied: "I said during the election campaign that if re-elected I would intend to serve a full term.

"But what I’m doing now is actually getting on with the immediate job. And I think that’s what’s important, I think that’s what the public would expect.

"They want to see government providing that certainty and stability at what is a critical time for the country."