Newspaper headlines: Trump vows ‘golden age’ and Southport killer pleads guilty

The inauguration of Donald Trump and the beginning of his second term as US president leads many of the papers.

“He’s back… and waging war on everything”, says the Daily Mirror, while the Times highlights what it calls Trump’s “far-reaching and combative policy agenda”. The Guardian describes it as a “radical shake-up of the global order”, while the international edition of the New York Times says Trump is planning “a show of power, right off the bat”.

“Unleashed” is the headline in the i, which points out the irony of a convicted felon pledging to transform what he called a “declining country”. But the Financial Times says Trump is returning to the White House with broader support than when he left in 2021.

Among those backing the new president is Boris Johnson, who was at the inauguration. Writing in the Daily Mail, he describes Trump’s address as an expression of “surging optimism and pure bullishness”. The Daily Star is less complimentary. Paraphrasing the oath taken by presidents as part of the inauguration ceremony, it says: “So help us God”.

A number of the papers offer their insights into how the UK should approach this second Trump presidency.

The Sun says there are “great opportunities for Britain from a US reborn in common sense”, while the Daily Express calls on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to “embrace” the new president “for all our sakes”. But the Daily Telegraph says Trump’s “America first” ideals will “come at a cost” to the UK. The Independent urges a pragmatic approach, though it says Sir Keir should “stand his ground when necessary”.

A report from Politico says Trump has already seen the first departure from his administration. Vivek Ramaswamy is said to be leaving the new Department of Government Efficiency just weeks after it was announced he would lead it alongside Elon Musk. It’s reported that he was “iced out” by the billionaire, in what the website describes as a sign of Mr Musk’s influence in the White House.

A number of the papers lead with the guilty plea entered by Axel Rudakubana on the first day of his trial for the Southport attacks. The 18-year-old admitted killing three girls – aged six, seven, and nine – at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July.

“Why did no-one stop him?” asks the front page of the Sun. “Failed by the state” is the headline in the Daily Mirror. In the Daily Telegraph, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick is among those asking why the public were initially told the attack was not being treated as terror-related. He calls on the prime minister to “be open about what he knew” about the nature of the attack and when.

The Times reports that the chancellor is expected to give her backing for a third runway at Heathrow Airport as part of the government’s plans for growth. According to the Telegraph, ministers are also set to approve the regular use of a second runway at Gatwick and an increase in capacity at Luton. But Bloomberg warns that the plans come with political risk because they will divide the Labour Party. The government says it is determined to secure the future of the aviation sector.

Prisons minister Lord Timpson tells the Guardian that one of the 12 women’s jails in England and Wales could be closed and offenders instead tagged or sent to rehabilitation centres. The paper quotes him as saying that, while some women need to be in prison, there are “far too many” who are ill and vulnerable.