Theresa May will form a minority Government to deliver Brexit in the wake of a disastrous election night for the Conservatives which left the UK with a hung parliament.

Mrs May failed to secure the 326 seats she needed to form another majority government and will now seek to stay in power with the informal backing of the Democratic Unionist Party.

Speaking in Downing Street after outlining her intentions to the Queen at Buckingham Palace the Prime Minister said: “What the country needs more than ever is certainty and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the General Election it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and ability to provide that certainty by commanding a majority in the House of Commons.”

Mrs May said her minority administration will “guide the country through the crucial Brexit talks that begin in just 10 days” as she insisted the Tories will be able to work together with the DUP in the “interests of the whole UK” as she pledged to “get to work”.

However, the parliamentary arithmetic will mean she will face an almighty struggle to pursue the policies set out in her manifesto.

The Tories won 318 seats and will have to rely on the DUP’s 10 MPs to get things done.

The Prime Minister has faced calls to quit but her deal with the DUP will allow her to stay in power and pass legislation with a wafer thin majority.

Mrs May’s decision to call a snap election backfired in spectacular fashion as she lost the Conservatives’ majority as Labour made significant gains.

Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, has urged Mrs May to resign as he said she should “go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country”.

He also claimed it is “pretty clear who won this election” and that “the party that has lost in this election is the Conservative Party”.

Meanwhile, even senior Tory figures have suggested she should consider her position.

Former chancellor George Osborne, who was sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May in one of her first acts as PM and now editor of the Evening Standard, told ITV that he doubts whether the premier can “survive in the long term as Conservative party leader”.

As things stood on Friday morning, the Conservatives had won 318 seats, a loss of 12, while Labour had won 261, a gain of 29.

And with 649 of the 650 seats now declared, no single party can enough seats for an overall majority.

On a night of high drama when most pundits predicted an overwhelming Tory victory Mrs May failed to strengthen her hand ahead of Brexit negotiations as she had hoped.

Brexit talks are due to begin in just 10 days’ time and a hung parliament is likely to throw a major spanner in the works.

Donald Tusk, the President of the EU Council, said in a letter to Mrs May that there is now “no time to lose” on Brexit negotiations after other senior figures suggested talks could be delayed.

Mrs May’s decision to call an early election cost a handful of her ministers their seats including Ben Gummer, the architect of the Tory manifesto, and Jane Ellison, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd clung onto her Hastings and Rye seat after fierce speculation that she could be ousted.

While the Tories struggled Labour performed much better than expected with Mr Corbyn announcing on Friday morning that he is ready to put forward a programme for government.

Speaking at Labour HQ he said: “I think it’s pretty clear who won this election.

“We are ready to do everything we can to put our programme into operation. There isn’t a parliamentary majority for anybody at the present time, the party that has lost in this election is the Conservative Party, the arguments the Conservative Party put forward in this election have lost.

“I think we need a change.”

He added: “We are ready to serve this country.”

The Conservative nightmare was perhaps only matched by the SNP with the party losing 21 seats including its two Westminster big beasts Angus Robertson and Alex Salmond, finishing with 35.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats managed to make four gains, securing 12 seats in all.

However, Nick Clegg lost his Sheffield Hallam seat as Vince Cable secured a return to Parliament after taking back his old Twickenham seat.

Tim Farron, the Lib Dem leader, said that if Mrs May had an “ounce of self-respect” she would resign.

Paul Nuttall, who failed in his bid to be elected MP for Boston and Skegness, resigned as Ukip leader on Friday morning.

He said he believed he had laid the foundations for future Ukip success but added: “It will be for someone else to build on those. It has been an honour to lead the party I love.”