The prime minister and her husband Philip, leave 10 Downing Street to seek permission from the Queen to form a minority government

Theresa May was being used as a defensive shield by her party yesterday as Tory MPs sought to delay a leadership contest while believing that she could be gone within months.

They acknowledged that the country now had a lame duck prime minister, who was nevertheless charged with the task of beginning Brexit negotiations and pushing the challenging legislative programme through parliament.

Some Tory MPs were looking towards Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary and Amber Rudd, the home secretary, as well as casting round for new blood in the expectation that Mrs May could go within months.

Michael Gove is likely to play a kingmaker role in the coming weeks and months. However, a shattered party repelled the idea of an imminent leadership contest, believing