British leader holds alliance talks with Northern Ireland party chief

Reports suggested that the Queen's speech and the Brexit negotiations could be delayed as a result.

"I confirmed to President Macron that the timetable for the Brexit negotiation remains on course and will begin next week", May said after her meeting with the new French leader, who will be a key player in the Brexit talks.

Taking the responsibility for the Conservatives' disastrous performance in last week's general election, British Prime Minister Theresa May on Monday offered an apology to the angry MPs of her Party. "We hope soon to be able to bring this work to a successful conclusion".

One of the most pressing issues facing Mrs May is the process of leaving the European Union, with Brexit talks set to start in Brussels on Monday.

In calling a general election three years early, May had hoped to boost her slim majority ahead of Brexit talks starting later this month. Her gamble failed spectacularly.

"Bringing stability to the United Kingdom government in and around issues around Brexit, obviously around counter-terrorism, and then doing what's right for Northern Ireland in respect of economic matters".

Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said the government was not looking at a formal coalition but would seek assurances that the DUP would vote with May "on the big things".

The prospect of such a deal has already raised alarm in Dublin, where Prime Minister Enda Kenny has warned of the impact on peace in the British province, while the DUP's ultra-conservative views have also prompted criticism.

"The danger is that however much any government tries they will not be seen to be impartial if they are locked into a parliamentary deal", former Conservative prime minister John Major told BBC radio.

May on Monday met with Tory backbenchers to discuss her leadership in light of her botched election campaign, which left her party with fewer seats than it had before.

Less than a week before Brexit talks are due to begin, Ms May faces conflicting demands within her own party and even a proposal for business groups and politicians from all parties to agree on a national position for Britain's most complex negotiations since World War II. "There's a lot of anxiety", Sinn Fein MP Michelle Glidernew told.

"The Tory civil war on the European Union which has ripped it apart since the Maastricht rebellions of the early 1990s, and which the referendum was supposed to solve, is now raging again", said Chris Grey, an academic who specialises in Brexit at Royal Holloway in London.

"What we are doing in relation to the productive talks that we are holding with the Democratic Unionist Party is ensuring that it is possible to, with their support, give the stability to the UK Government that I think is necessary at this time".

Meanwhile, the chief European Union negotiator has told the Financial Times that Britain that the clock was ticking on Brexit talks, and that Britain should be wary of further delays.

May tried to reassert her shattered authority at the weekend by announcing her new cabinet - with no changes among her top team. "Hopefully we can make a bit more progress today", he said.

As discussion continued, a leading business organization said the political uncertainty is leading to a "dramatic drop" in confidence.

Asked about Sir John's comments during a trip to Paris, Mrs May said she was "absolutely steadfast" in her support for the 1998 Good Friday Agreement - which created the Northern Ireland Assembly - and efforts to revive the power-sharing executive. "We know those talks are going well and also we know that, at this very important time, we want to produce a substantial Queen's Speech".

The draft law would empower Europe to decide if post-Brexit London has the right to host financial market "clearing houses" that deal in euros, the EU's single currency.