Ruth Davidson insists Theresa May "absolutely" can govern, despite only being able to achieve a tiny majority with the backing of the DUP.

Ms Davidson introduced her 13 MPs - a dozen of them newly-elected - to the media at an event in Stirling.

Asked about her concerns over a tie-up with the DUP, which opposes same-sex marriage, Ms Davidson - who is gay - says the parties "differed hugely" in areas of social policy, including both LGBTI and women's rights.

"What's important is to ensure we try to help where possible to advance these rights in Northern Ireland, while making sure there is absolutely no idea of any sort of rollback here, and these are assurances I sought and received."

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson tells the BBC that Theresa May must "work with other parties" on Brexit.

"The Conservative party, having failed to win a majority, now needs to work with others," she says.

More from those protests in Westminster, which moved to the gates of Downing Street only to be met by a wall of uniformed police officers as bemused tourists posed for selfies.

Chants of "Tories out, refugees in" and "Tories out, Corbyn in" were led by a vocal core on a loudspeaker.

Image source, Getty Images

Among the crowd of a few hundred was Luke O'Neill, who voted for Labour in Kensington. The 27-year-old says: "May's mandate has gone, that's probably the best news and Labour is gaining... that is the best news as well."

The nursery worker is angry about the Conservatives' deal with the DUP, although he admits to not initially knowing who they were.

"I've never seen people more hateful in my life," he says.

Stephen Walker
BBC News NI Political Correspondent

The DUP find themselves as the kingmakers of Westminster but it is a position that they must use with great care. The party must be careful that whatever Conservative plans they back there must not be a fallout in Northern Ireland.

One senior DUP source said he expected the arrangement to support Theresa May to be on a "case by case basis". He insisted that his party would stay clear of a formal coalition and he said the Conservatives would be well versed on what issues the DUP were prepared to support.

It is a position that carries support in the party.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Inside Politics programme today, a former DUP junior minister in the Stormont executive thought a formal DUP/Conservative deal was unlikely.

Alastair Ross said the DUP might support the Conservatives "in a Budget and the Queen's Speech, but allow themselves the flexibility to take different positions to the Conservative Party if it's in the interests of Northern Ireland to do so."

He added: "I'd be very, very surprised if there's any sort of a formal arrangement."

On law and order issues and on matters like Europe and grammar schools there is much common ground between the two parties. But whilst the DUP is pro-Brexit, the party does not want to see a "hard" border with the Irish Republic.

Personal relationships between MPs of the two parties are very good and last year the DUP hosted a champagne reception at the Conservative Party conference.

However the DUP, ever mindful of their own electorate, will enter the days ahead slowly. One senior source said that his party would be wary of backing the Conservative plans for welfare or social care if they adversely affected Northern Ireland .

Another senior DUP source said that when it came to economic and welfare issues he hoped the DUP could make the Conservatives "more compassionate".

Arlene Foster's party may only take up a tiny space on the green benches of Westminster but if a deal is sealed they will have enormous influence across the entire UK.

BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe

"Mission failed", says Frankfurt's Allgemeine Zeitung, external, which concludes that Theresa May should have remembered the experience of a predecessor who tried to win an election with the question "who rules Britain", only to receive the answer "you don't".

“Seeking to get a personal mandate to strengthen her bargaining position, Theresa May made the same mistake as Edward Heath who, in February 1974, hoping to convert his lead in polls into a larger majority, called a snap election," writes Gina Thomas.

"At the time, he won the majority of the votes, but not the majority of seats and had to give way to the Labour minority government after a failed attempt to form a coalition.”

"Oops, they did it again," concludes the Britney Spears-inspired Sueddeutsche Zeitung, external.

The Berliner Zeitung, external opts for a more straightforward headline, saying:“Talks about minority government expected after election in Great Britain."

However, it perhaps gets closest to the mark in quoting British political scientist Colin Crouch saying that ”the entire country is confused”.

The Spectator

The knives were out for Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill before they resigned as Theresa May's joint chiefs of staff. But, in a blog for the Spectator, external, James Kirkup argues that the Conservative manifesto was "brave".

"Instead of seeking ways to tell people what they wanted hear and offer them the things they want, it thought about what might be good and fair, for the country as a whole and for people who haven’t always got the best deal from that country," he writes.

"It started to take the Conservatives on a journey towards answering some overdue questions, about fairness and effort.

Image source, AFP

Several hundred protesters have gathered in central London to voice their anger at Theresa May's government and her alliance with the Democratic Unionist Party.

People carrying placards reading anti-DUP and pro-Jeremy Corbyn messages basked in the sun in Parliament Square, while organisers from Stand Up To Racism and the Stop The War Coalition spoke to the crowd, reports the Press Association.

Scotland Office minister Lord Dunlop has said that now was a "good time" for him to leave frontline politics, following the success of the Tories' general election campaign north of the border.

Announcing his departure on Twitter, Lord Dunlop said: "Joined govt 6 years ago to help keep the UK together. 13 Scottish Tory MPs & a 62% Unionist vote share seems a good moment to bow out." He put on record his thanks to "all friends & colleagues in government", particularly Scotland Secretary David Mundell, as well as "those from across political parties with whom I've worked".

Lord Dunlop was given a peerage by David Cameron in 2015, allowing him to take on the role of Scotland Office minister. The then-prime minister was forced to take that approach after the Tories won just one seat in Scotland in the 2015 election.

More on the ongoing talks. It is understood that the UK government chief whip Gavin Williamson has been meeting his opposite number in the DUP, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

Jeremy Corbyn emerged from his Islington home earlier to be greeted by a small posse of press and TV cameramen.

"Nice to see you. Thank you all for coming," he said in answer to a variety of questions relating to the aftermath of Thursday's election.

He was keener to shake hands with those he met on the street, including one woman who declared she was a "staunch supporter of Labour".

When another man stopped to shake Mr Corbyn's hand, and offered the Labour leader a consoling "unlucky", Mr Corbyn replied: "Well... we are not far off, are we?"

BBC News Channel

The former Conservative MP Neil Carmichael, who lost his seat in Gloucestershire in Thursday's general election, has said that any deal arrived at in forthcoming Brexit talks had to "make sense" for the economy.

Mr Carmichael, who lost his seat in Stroud, criticised several aspects of the Conservative election campaign including its lack of a "positive message" and policies such as social care which, he said, had been "ill thought and landed badly".

And, Mr Carmichael, said: "Going on about hard Brexit and 'no deal is better than a bad deal' had all served to suggest that there was only one segment being listened to and that was those hell bent on taking Britain out of the European Union at any price."

He added:

UKIP's interim leader has said Theresa May is "personally damaged as our negotiator" but that this should not compromise Brexit talks.

Steve Crowther, who wants an end to freedom of movement, said: "Mrs May's incompetent electioneering makes not the slightest difference to that.

"If the Conservative-DUP government thinks it can backslide on this, it will rapidly find that it is mistaken."

BBC Northern Ireland political reporter Stephen Walker writes:

BBC News Channel

Tory MP Alistair Burt has said Theresa May needs to widen her circle of advisors, after her joint chiefs of staff Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill quit.

"If the circle is too narrow... there's going to be criticism," the MP for Bedfordshire North East said.

He added: "There were a lot of good ideas in the manifesto that reflects what the prime minister said on the steps of Downing Street when she was first there.

"But we didn't make enough of that, and of course then the concentration is on the errors in the manifesto.

"And with the result that there is, it's no surprise that some people may have to go."