Stagecraft comes under fire from Trump critics as sign of oligarchy and the powerful influence they wield

• Donald Trump inauguration – live updates

The stagecraft of Donald Trump’s inauguration that placed global billionaire tech titans in front of his own cabinet picks has come under immediate fire from Trump critics as sign of oligarchy and the powerful influence they wield.

During the ceremony at the Capitol rotunda, tech leaders including Meta’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg; Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook; Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai; Amazon’s founder, Jeff Bezos; and Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk, gathered together to symbolize the increasingly close relationship between the tech industry and the new American president.

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Thousands squeeze into Capital One area for televised viewing of president’s swearing-in despite frigid weather

• Donald Trump inauguration – live updates

In bitter cold, thousands of Donald Trump ’s faithful gathered at the Capital One Arena in Washington for a televised viewing of his inauguration , sharing stories of unwavering support despite not being able to see the president up close.

The weather-forced move indoors scaled back what Capitol police had anticipated would be a crowd of a quarter-million ticketed guests, though die-hard supporters still made their way through the capital’s frozen streets to be as close as possible to the historic moment.

God spared him to make America great again. Rejoice oilmen and climate change deniers, but immigrants watch out

• Donald Trump inauguration – live updates

They came in dribs and drabs, the unwanted, the uninvited and the unloved. First to arrive in Washington was Liz Truss, wearing a red Maga hat and a bright blue coat looking like an extra in a Paddington Bear film.

Lizzie could be found standing on a street corner in downtown DC, screaming: “I used to be prime minister of the United Kingdom.”

Women’s Championship club become first to trial alcohol in the stands, with views mixed among supporters

“If you can take a coke out there, why not a beer?” was the verdict of the Bristol City season‑ticket holder Andy Payne as he attended the game against London City Lionesses at Ashton Gate on Sunday. It was a historic day as the club, together with Southampton, became the first to pilot alcohol in the stands at a Women’s Championship game.

Drinking in view of the pitch is not allowed in the top five men’s leagues in England. That ban is backed by the Sporting Events Act of 1985 but it is understood women’s football is not included in the legislation . If the pilot is successful, the initiative could be rolled out across the top two tiers of women’s football in England. The pilot – which is being conducted at Birmingham and Newcastle too – is being carried out across the clubs’ remaining home league games of the season with some derby fixtures exempt.

The billionaire’s return to power signals a new era of upheaval in US politics, marked by authoritarian ambitions, glaring conflicts and polarisation

On the surface, Donald Trump’s inauguration looked like the usual transfer of power, with political rivals exchanging polite applause. This was a facade. Mr Trump’s address feigned conciliation but was, in reality, a rightwing call to arms against his enemies, rejecting the unity the ceremony represents. Mr Trump presented a grim picture of a country on its knees that only he can revitalise. He declared not one but two national emergencies, pledging to return “millions of criminal aliens” and “drill, baby, drill” for the “liquid gold under our feet”. His alarming call to “take back” the Panama Canal from China hints at ambitions to reshape the global order, potentially through force.

A flurry of Trumpian executive orders will accelerate the climate emergency, defy the US constitution over birthright citizenship and reduce the scope of legal protections. Forget the stirring rhetoric of Kennedy; Trump’s message was blunt: enemies at home and abroad, beware. Where Roosevelt once inspired hope, Mr Trump offered fear.

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Liz Kendall needs a policy to match her rhetoric on helping claimants back into work

Labour’s plans for social security are once again under the spotlight, after the high court ruled that a consultation on incapacity benefit cuts was unlawful . Coupled with an expected squeeze on departmental spending, and the latest warning from a House of Lords committee that the present system is “unsustainable”, the prospect of a new consultation ramps up the pressure on the work and pensions secretary, Liz Kendall, to come up with a policy to match her rhetoric.

Ms Kendall rejects the language of her Conservative opponents – for example, the claim by Mel Stride, her predecessor, that people were being signed off work by doctors because they felt “bluesy”. Her vision for reform involves closer coordination with the NHS, enhanced support for people who are economically inactive, and stronger local oversight of job centres and training. In November, she set out her ambition for a “genuine public employment service” , including work coaches to support people through the transition back into work.

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Globally, rightwing populists seem to be walking in his footsteps – but the UK is proof that that’s not inevitable

The snow lay in drifts over the railway lines at Auschwitz, when Keir Starmer went to pay his respects last week. His wife, Victoria, the granddaughter of Polish Jews who fled to sanctuary in England, stood beside him in the biting cold looking out over the tracks that once ferried unimaginable numbers of people to their deaths.

Afterwards, the prime minister talked about the relics of the dead discovered when the concentration camp was liberated: the piles of shoes, many in children’s sizes, and the suitcases hurriedly packed by people forced from their homes. What he had seen would stay with him, he said. It was “the ultimate warning … of where prejudice can lead”.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

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Chelsea: Sanchez, James, Tosin, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Dewsbury-Hall, Madueke, Palmer, Neto, Jackson.
Subs: Jorgensen, Disasi, Acheampong, Gusto, George, Sancho, Felix, Nkunku, Guiu.

Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa, Semedo, Doherty, Bueno, Agbadou, Ait-Nouri, J Gomes, Andre, Sarabia, Strand Larsen, Cunha.
Subs: Johnstone, Hwang, Dawson, R Gomes, Doyle, Forbs, Bellegarde, Guedes, Lima.

Keir Starmer said state had ‘failed in its duty’ after Axel Rudakubana admitted murdering three girls

Yvette Cooper has announced a public inquiry into the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance club in Southport after confirming the “extremely violent” killer was known to the authorities.

The home secretary said the inquiry would provide answers to the families of Axel Rudakubana, 18, who pleaded guilty on Monday to murdering the three girls.