May selects cabinet amid ouster plots

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May appointed ministers to her shaky government on Sunday as some Conservative colleagues said her days were numbered after last week's disastrous election.

May is seeking a deal with a Northern Irish party to prop up the Conservative minority government, and lawmakers said the rebuff from voters meant the government would have to abandon planned policies and re-think its strategy for European Union exit talks.

A stream of senior lawmakers entered her office at 10 Downing Street on Sunday afternoon, to learn what roles they had been given in government.

May's weakened position in the party rules out big changes to the Cabinet lineup. Downing Street has already said that the most senior ministers - including Treasury chief Philip Hammond, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Amber Rudd - will keep their jobs.

As rumours swirled about plots to oust May, Johnson denied he was planning a leadership challenge. He tweeted that an article in the Mail on Sunday newspaper headlined "Boris set to launch bid to be PM as May clings on" was "tripe". "I am backing Theresa May. Let's get on with the job," he said.

The Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority in Thursday's election - a vote May called in a bid to strengthen her mandate ahead of exit talks with the EU.

Instead, she has left Britain's government ranks in disarray, days before the divorce negotiations are due to start on June 19.

Source: Khaleej Times