Theresa May at Downing Street announcing her intention to form a new government with the DUP

Theresa May this afternoon defied calls to resign and put Brexit at the heart of her pitch to lead a minority government.

The prime minister took to the steps of Downing Street just before 1pm after a trip to Buckingham Palace and declared: “I have just been to see Her Majesty the Queen and I will now form a government.”

Mrs May signalled the Tories would be supported by Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party, whose ten seats, combined with the Conservatives’ 318 seats, would comprise a majority in the House of Commons.

She said she intended to lead a government that could “provide certainty and lead Britain forward at this critical time for our country”.

Flanked by her husband Philip, she outlined a plan to