BRASILIA — Supporters of Brazilian far-right ex-president Jair Bolsonaro have stormed Congress and police have used tear gas in an attempt to repel them.

The dramatic scenes came a week after left-wing veteran Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's inauguration.

Supporters of Bolsonaro — who refuse to accept that he lost the election — broke through barriers and entered the building in the capital, Brasília.

Protesters — who smashed windows of the building — had been camping nearby.

Bolsonaro's supporters are calling for military intervention and the resignation of da Silva — better known as Lula — who defeated his far-right rival in October's election.

Lula is currently on an official trip in São Paulo state. In his inauguration speech, Lula vowed to rebuild a country in "terrible ruins".

He decried the policies of his predecessor, who went to the US to avoid the handover ceremony. — BBC