You can check your payments are correct online

Many DWP payments are failing to arrive in people’s bank accounts, with people missing out on £3,000 in the average case. Benefits experts have shared some helpful guidance about the worrying trend.

Thousands of pounds a year in payments are failing to arrive as they should for one simple reason: people are not claiming the support they are due. Experts at debt advice group Money Wellness warn that in their experience, people are missing out on around £3,000 a year age, the same as £250 a month. Rebecca Lamb, external relations manager at Money Wellness, said people frequently fail to apply for what they are entitled to, even when they are aware that the support exists. She said: “It’s not just awareness. There are other barriers too.

“Stigma is still a big one. A lot of people feel uncomfortable about claiming benefits, especially if they’ve worked all their lives.” For instance, those of state pension age on a low income may be eligible to claim Pension Credit.

Income boost

You may have always supported yourself financially throughout your working life and plan to continue doing so in retirement. But this particular benefit could make a big difference. The average claim is worth more than £4,000 in support, topping up your weekly income while also unlocking access to additional help.

The benefit boosts your income to up to £238 a week for single claimants and up to £363.25 a week for couples. Additional amounts may be available depending on your personal circumstances, such as if you have a severe disability or if you care for another adult.

The process can put people off

Ms Lamb warned that another problem is people being deterred by the lengthy application process. She said: “The process can also put people off.

“It can feel complicated, it’s definitely time-consuming, and it can be quite overwhelming if you’re already struggling. There’s also fear of being rejected, which stops people even trying.

“And sometimes it’s just life. People are busy, they’re dealing with bills, work, family pressures, and applying for support gets pushed to the bottom of the list.”

She urged for more action to boost awareness. The advocate said: “There’s a real opportunity for more organisations to be more proactive. At the moment, too much relies on people knowing when to check, and in reality, most people don’t.

“If the DWP or local authorities could prompt people when something changes – even just a simple message saying ‘you may want to check what you’re now entitled to’ – that could make a real difference.”

Better signposting

She suggested that service providers such as banks and utility companies could also do their bit, by directing people towards support if they are missing payments or dipping into their overdraft.

Ms Lamb said: “They’re often in a position to see the early signs first, with things like overdrafts creeping up or missed payments. That’s usually the point where a bit of signposting to benefits checks or debt advice could really help people before things get worse.”

You can get an estimate of what benefits you may be eligible for using an online calculator tool. There are several available, including the Better Off Calculator.

Scottish Labour is putting forward good policy ideas to fix broken public services, says Record View.

The latest revelations in the Peter Mandelson scandal are deeply damaging for the Prime Minister.

His appointment of the disgraced former Labour figure as the UK’s ­ambassador to the US was a terrible error of judgment.

But for the Government to push ahead with the hire after Mandelson failed vetting is unforgivable.

Keir Starmer said he did not know Mandelson failed vetting and that he is “furious” with a top civil servant for not telling him.

But the PM’s position makes him look like a leader who does not know what is going on in his own Government.

He also comes across as someone unwilling to ask basic questions about an obviously sensitive appointment.

SNP leader John Swinney is correct to say the UK Government has been “asleep at the wheel”.

The scandal is proving to be a major distraction in the Holyrood election campaign, which should be about schools, hospitals and the cost of living.

But the PM’s blunders are making it about him – even though Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has tried to distance himself from Starmer.

Labour candidate Monica Lennon has said Starmer should ­quit immediately as the row refuses to die down.

Her perspective is sensible and the PM should consider the damage he is doing to Scottish Labour’s election chances.

Labour have put forward good policy ideas to fix Scotland’s broken public services. But their message is being drowned out by the noise around Starmer and the Mandelson scandal.

That’s a problem for Scottish Labour.

But, more importantly, it’s a disaster for voters in Scotland who need to make an informed choice on May 7 on who runs the country.

Time to axe tax

The council tax system is so old it was drawn up by Thatcher-era ­dinosaurs serving under John Major in the early 90s.

It was a response to the hated poll tax and came at a different time in terms of council funding and house prices.

It’s scarcely credible that homes are still paying council tax according to ­valuations carried out in 1991.

The SNP may have tinkered around the edges of the system since first winning power in 2007, but reneged on a manifesto pledge to scrap the tax.

Some tried to push for reform or ­abolition but it remains one of these thorny issues that successive leaders would rather brush under the carpet.

In today’s Daily Record, trade union chief Roz Foyer says enough is enough.

She has offered to host a cross-party summit on the issue.

We hope she succeeds. The council tax needs to be scrapped – and doing nothing is no longer an option.

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Eva Outram, 28, was a project manager with the NHS – but her TV experience changed her life forever

A woman quit her job in the NHS and saves £2,500 a month living in a van on farmland for free – in exchange for working up to six hours a week. Eva Outram, 28, was working as a project manager for the NHS, earning £38,000 a year.

At the time, she was living in a two-bedroom flat in Leeds, paying £1,300 a month – including bills and mortgage. But after appearing on Channel 4’s survival series Alone, where 11 people were dropped in the wilderness in Canada to survive as long as possible, she decided city living was not for her.

After lasting 23 days in the wild, Eva, decided to quit her NHS job, rent out her flat and moved into a £4,800 caravan with her boyfriend, Tom Park, 33, a stone mason. Eva said the pair save £2,500 a month and live on farmland for free in return for working on the land they are living on – with the only outgoing they have is £40 every few months for gas and their £85 weekly food shop.

She said the work can vary from general maintenance to face-painting – and they can work anywhere between three or six hours a week. Eva, a content creator, and outdoor business owner, from Leeds, said: “We have a total sense of freedom.

“We have freedom to do whatever we want with our money, we have so much more disposable income – between us we are saving £2.5k a month.

“We don’t have any accommodation-associated costs; we have our electric and water bills sorted for us where we work. We can move around whenever; we are not tied down to one location.”

After buying her two-bedroom flat in Leeds in October 2022, Eva said she was fed up with the “hamster wheel” of working to pay a mortgage. And after appearing on a survival show, she realised that she was living a life on the back of other people’s expectations.

Eva said: “I had always had an inkling that the traditional way of living wasn’t for me, but I was on the conveyor belt of going to university and getting a good job. I lived in the flat for a year on a hamster wheel of working to pay the mortgage. After coming back off the show, I had a realisation that I was living a life on the back of other people’s expectations.”

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Tom had been living in a caravan when they first met, and Eva said she would spend most weekends with him. So in August 2024, she started renting out her flat, and she and Tom bought a £4.8k caravan together.

“I saw the lifestyle through Tom’s lens and realised that it looked great,” Eva said. “I wondered if I could actually follow through with it, as it felt outside the realm of possibility- until I realised that it was a feasible way of living and I loved it.”

Since moving into the van full-time, Eva said that she and Tom will save £2.5k a month. Instead of paying any accommodation cost, the pair will live on farmland in exchange for work, which includes a free place to stay, water, and electricity.

Eva, who shares her lifestyle on @eva__exploring, said: “The work we do varies, at our last place it was general maintenance, looking after the chickens and my partner would do construction work. Where we are now, it is an open farm where children come, so I did two weeks of face painting that covered us for four months. We tend to be in one place for a long amount of time, the last place we were there for a year.”

Eva said van life gives her the “total sense of freedom”, something she didn’t get in the city. She said that she earns more than she ever has before and is living her “dream life”.

The couple are saving to buy land for their home and is hoping to go on a road trip to Greece over winter. She said: “The misconception is that to be living how we live, we must not be earning enough money.

“But I have been paid more than ever before, and I have no intentions of going back to my old lifestyle. Our eventual goal is to buy a piece of land and build our own place on it or buy a rundown place.

“But we have no immediate plans to buy somewhere. The fact that we have fewer outgoings has allowed me to follow my passions. I genuinely feel like I am living my dream life.”

PREVIOUS MONTHLY OUTGOINGS:

Mortgage: £800

Ground rent: £150

Bills: £315

Food: £40

Total: £1,305

CURRENT MONTHLY OUTGOINGS

Rent: £0

Bills: £40 on gas

Food: £85 food shop

Total: £125

EXCLUSIVE: The Scottish Labour leader said John Swinney should “withdraw this disgraceful advert immediately”.

Anas Sarwar has urged the SNP to delete a “disgraceful” video claiming Labour are plotting a shady deal with Nigel Farage.

He said the social media post was the “lowest point of the campaign so far” as he accused the SNP of adding “lies” to Reform’s “poison”.

The bitter row kicked off last week during the Channel 4 leaders’ debate in Glasgow.

The Scottish Labour leader raised the temperature after accusing Reform of wanting to deport his Muslim children.

Malcolm Offord, Reform’s leader in Scotland, hit back by accusing Sarwar of cosying up to him after an event in December.

Offord claimed Sarwar had come “bouncing up to me in Paisley Town Hall” to suggest “we need to work together, Reform and Labour, to remove the SNP”.

READ MORE: Reform candidate blasted ‘deplorable’ Nigel Farage and derided party as a ‘complete set of c***s’READ MORE: Millionaire banker Malcolm Offord criticises minimum wage rises for low paid workers

The incendiary claim, denied by Sarwar, was pounced on by the SNP whose leader John Swinney has warned of a “grubby” deal between both parties after the election.

The SNP quickly posted a clip of Offord’s claim and stated: “Busted. Anas Sarwar approached Reform’s leader asking to form an alliance against the SNP. Source: Reform’s leader.”

Sarwar told the Record: “What is now abundantly clear is that the biggest threat to both Reform and the SNP is me and Scottish Labour.

“That is why they are both so desperate to keep up the smears.”

Sarwar also raised Reform’s notorious by-election advert last year which suggested his priority would be the Pakistani community: “Reform spent tens of thousands of pounds on an advert questioning my loyalty to Scotland.

“For the SNP to take that poison, add lies of their own, and push it out using supporters’ money is vile. It is the lowest point of the campaign so far.

“John Swinney should withdraw this disgraceful advert immediately. It tells you everything you need to know. The SNP and Reform are desperate. They are only interested in playing games, and their brand of divisive politics is coming to an end.

“If you want to reject the poison of Reform, beat the SNP and change Scotland, there is only one route to change.”

George Adam, SNP candidate for Paisley, said: “Anas Sarwar has become increasingly desperate since his plot for a grubby deal with Reform was exposed.

“Rather than being honest with the public, Labour have attacked journalists for simply reporting the facts – that Scottish Labour party figures were briefing journalists that Anas Sarwar would rely on Reform votes to force entry into Bute House.

“That is why we need people to unite behind the SNP to deliver a majority that can lock out Farage and unlock independence.”

It comes after a new poll found the pro-UK parties could hold the majority in Holyrood after the election.

The survey, carried out for More in Common, suggested the SNP would continue to be the largest party.

But Swinney’s party and the pro-independence Greens would fall one seat short of a majority, leaving the SNP vulnerable.

Such a result could lead to the pro-UK parties teaming up to install Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar as First Minister.

Oblivious staff visited the Perthshire home of cruel Jennifer Robertson to provide personal care for her now dead husband Alan – who sexually abused a vulnerable child alongside their son Steven.

Young care workers were sent to the home of an evil foster family who beat and raped kids to tend to a child abuser for years without being told of a probe.

Oblivious staff visited the Perthshire home of cruel Jennifer Robertson to provide personal care for her now dead husband Alan – who sexually abused a vulnerable child alongside their son Steven.

Horrified staff only learned of the harrowing crimes committed by the Robertsons when they read of their convictions in the news this month – saying they were drafted in to provide intimate care for the pensioner after a police probe was first launched.

Jennifer Robertson, 79, abused children as young as 10 months old, physically assaulted young girls and forced food down their throats at a property in Perthshire between 1980 and 1995.

Her son Steven Robertson, 52, sexually abused a number of the girls between 1986 and 1995, sometimes acting with his late father Alan Robertson. He also sexually assaulted another girl in the Dundee area between 2015 and 2017.

He was given 11 years in jail for his crimes, while his mother was given 250 hours of unpaid work at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Both were convicted of a total of nine charges last month and sentenced last Friday.

A source blasted council social work chiefs for failing to alert care workers – who were kept in the dark for four years and often visited the property solo.

A source close to the case told the Record: “For Perth and Kinross Council to send anyone into that environment without giving them prior knowledge of the kind of allegations involved is horrific.

“In 2018, the council handed Alan Robertson’s care over and didn’t make the company aware that allegations had been made.

“It was full personal care, including bathing and showering, going to the toilet.

“One girl on the team was just 18 at the time.

“They have failed in their duty of care to those staff members – the females on the team especially.

“The first carers knew was when they saw an article in the paper.”

Jurors heard how evil Jennifer Robertson carried out physical assaults on children in her care, while her son, Steven Robertson sexually assaulted and raped young girls in the same household – targeting one girl alongside dad Alan – who died before the case came to court.

The court heard that on various occasions throughout the 1980s, Jennifer called children derogatory names. She also physically assaulted the children – one little boy had his head struck against a wall.

During the same time period, Steven sexually assaulted a young girl.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Steven, while acting with his now-dead father Alan, sexually assaulted another child and forced her to perform sex acts.

He raped another child throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.

The court heard that police became aware of the Robertsons’ activities in 2018, and a lengthy police investigation was launched.

The Robertsons sought private care for Alan through a care company in 2018, one of a number of service providers approved by the council.

The local authority fully funded his care, which was provided by a team of self employed workers.

The source said: “It turns out the police were investigating since 2018. Carers started attending Alan Robertson in August or September 2018.

“The carers in that team were predominantly female. Originally care would have been provided solo. For the first couple of years there was only one going in.

“Carers went to them for four years, from 2018 until 2022.

“Jennifer Robertson was there and the son Steven would go and stay from time to time as well.

“There was no reason to believe there was anything untoward because they were a well thought of family.

“If staff had known, there’s no way many would have put themselves in that position.”

Last week, a brother and sister abused by Jennifer Robertson said they are planning legal action against the council over alleged failures that allowed the abuse to continue.

The brother and sister, who wish to remain anonymous, were among those who gave evidence and say they still live with the trauma of what happened under Robertson’s care.

Perth and Kinross Council were asked to comment for this story.

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“You’ve sold the team – now sell the club,” chanted fans at Molineux in October as frustrations reached boiling point.

Shi’s interview with BBC WM in December, when he appeared to brush off relegation, did not land well with supporters, and the under-fire executive chairman left barely six weeks after Pereira was fired in November following two points from their opening 10 games.

Shi’s departure after almost a decade removed a toxic focal point for the fans, but angst against Fosun remains.

Fosun remains committed to the club despite looking for investment into Fosun Sports Group, having held talks with former Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor in October.

There is an expectation the ownership will provide funds to give Wolves the best chance to return to the Premier League at the first attempt, but supporters will struggle to forgive their mis-steps.

Wolves have had six permanent managers since Nuno Espirito Santo left in 2021 – seven including Steve Davis’ eight-game interim spell in 2022.

Fosun will mark 10 years of ownership in the summer and early success has given way to a slow decline.

Nuno took Wolves to promotion in 2018 and two successive seventh-place finishes, the Europa League quarter-finals and an FA Cup semi-final.

He left after finishing 13th and, despite a 10th place under Bruno Lage in 2022, Wolves have slowly slipped to 13th, 14th and then 16th last season.

Julen Lopetegui, Gary O’Neil and Pereira felt they did not get the backing they wanted, but there is more synergy between the new hierarchy of Nathan Shi – appointed as executive chairman in December – Matt Jackson, promoted to technical director, and Edwards.

Nathan Shi is said to be more willing to understand what the club need – and try to provide it – while there is a sense predecessor Jeff Shi would have been more resistant to change.

Comparisons can be drawn with Leicester and Southampton last season, Wolves initially shared that toxic cloud earlier this season which has, in the Foxes’ case, failed to lift.

At times this season it has been difficult at Molineux – Pereira and Jorgen Strand Larsen arguing with fans after a last-gasp defeat by Burnley in October is one example – but Edwards restored some unity.

After joining from Middlesbrough in November, he lost his opening seven games but has slowly improved the squad, running stats are up, intensity improved and Edwards is popular among the squad.

He works well alongside assistant Harry Watling, the pair dovetailing well with a good blend of support and strong words to the squad.

The win over Aston Villa in February provided the moment where the bond with supporters could stick, Edwards sprinting down the touchline after Rodrigo Gomes’ stoppage-time clincher as fans went wild.

They had earlier chanted “1-0 to the Championship”, signalling an acceptance of their fate – something which had happened internally a month earlier.

January’s win over West Ham – after Wolves set a Premier League record with a 19-game winless start – gave a glimmer of hope, and draws against Everton and Newcastle aided that.

Yet it was acknowledged Wolves needed at least one win from those two games to maintain hopes of an improbable comeback, and defeat by Bournemouth at the end of January changed the tone.

It was the reason for the late business in the transfer window, with Strand Larsen leaving for Crystal Palace for £48m on deadline day and Angel Gomes and Adam Armstrong arriving with next season’s Championship campaign in mind.

Wolves needed to start the rebuilding process early.

Relegation has been a long time coming.

The development, by Almscliffe-Dhesi Group (ADG), sits on the outskirts of Peterlee in a transformation of a former Vauxhall dealership off Passfield Way.

The site now hosts a line-up of national chains including Sainsbury’s, Greggs, Dominos, CVS Vets, and EVC Electric Vehicle Chargers.

Neil Creeney, co-owner of ADG alongside Bal Singh, said: “It is tremendous news that our Peterlee retail centre, just 200 yards from the A19, is now open.

“This high-quality retail development has made shopping much more convenient for local residents and we are delighted, but not surprised, that there is just one remaining unit left to let.

“We now expect serious interest in our last remaining unit, given the quality of retailers trading successfully.”

The remaining unit is a 1,250 sq ft space next to Dominos, marketed by Lofthouse and Partners and @retail.

The scheme has created at least 100 full and part-time jobs and offers 70 parking spaces, including accessible bays and eight electric vehicle charging points.

ADG said the site is within walking distance for many residents.

Steph Hedger, director of property development at Domino’s, said: “We’re delighted to be part of this new development in Peterlee and to have received such a warm welcome from the local community.

“Peterlee Domino’s has created valuable local employment, and the new store provides a site that fully supports our operations and the service we deliver to customers.

“With excellent accessibility, we’re well positioned to provide the reliable, high-quality service our customers know and love.

“We’re also committed to being a good neighbour, and our team regularly takes part in local litter picks to help keep the area clean and tidy.”

The centre sits just a mile west of Peterlee town centre, next to Shotton Hall Academy and Primary School, within easy access to Sunderland, Middlesbrough, and Newcastle.

He said: “It was tremendous news that a retailer of the quality and reputation of Sainsburys decided to move into our retail centre in Peterlee.

“What a resounding endorsement of our development.

“We now expect serious interest in our last remaining unit, given the quality of retailers trading successfully.”

Bal Singh, co-owner of ADG, said: “It is fantastic for Peterlee that other popular national retailers such as Greggs and Dominos have invested in the town, providing much-needed new facilities and jobs.

“This chimes in with the Government’s levelling up agenda for the north, which aims to invest in northern towns who have previously been left behind.”

Mario Jaconelli of property consultants Lofthouse and Partners, the joint marketing agents for this development with @retail, commented: “This remaining unit is a fabulous opportunity for a local or national retailer to join a stellar line-up of occupiers at Peterlee’s newest retail park. The quality of the retailers, who are now trading successfully, is a resounding endorsement of what this popular park has to offer.”

A long list of Welsh Labour demands for more powers, such as devolution of the Crown Estate – the body that is responsible for much of the seabed around Wales, and vital to the development of floating offshore wind-power – and policing, as well as reform of how Wales is funded, has not been granted by its UK Labour colleagues.

A planning application for North Skelton Club, in Holmbeck Road, Skelton, proposed a new use for fitness classes and community groups, along with a multi-sensory room for children.

The plans said internal alterations and repairs only were to be carried out, with no external changes to the detached building.

Representations from neighbours claimed work had already started, prior to permission.

But a Redcar and Cleveland Council officer, in a report, said planning permission was not required for internal works – even if paving the way for the change of use – and “therefore there hasn’t been any planning enforcement action in relation to the site”.

Other comments complained of a “short time frame” from the closure of the club last year and said there had been no community consultation.

One said: “This is the last remaining pub in the village, loss of [the] facility would have a substantial impact on local social cohesion and community life.”

The council said the building was not registered as an asset of community value and as such there did not need to be a process of consultation beyond the public consultation period of the planning application. 

A previous supporting statement accompanying the plans said the change of use would bring a vacant, unused building back to use and offer services for the local community.

It confirmed there were no planned alterations to the external building, other than repairs to its fabric, it being described as being in a “poor state of repair”.

The council’s environmental protection team noted how a function room was planned to be used as a fitness studio suggesting this could be of concern, for example due to music accompanying exercise classes.

It was agreed that the submission of a noise management plan, to be required from the applicant detailing controls to be implemented, was  justified, necessary and reasonable due to the closeness of the building and neighbouring residential properties.

The report noted a first floor flat, associated with the former club, that represented a residential use and said it would be acceptable to continue to maintain this use.

The council also addressed access, stating there would be no changes to parking provision, available to the front and rear of the property. 

It concluded the change of use would not have a material impact on the local highway network.

The idea that fruit and vegetables might cause cancer sounds bizarre. For decades, studies have shown that people who eat more plants tend to live longer, healthier lives, with lower rates of heart disease, stroke and several common cancers.

Lung cancer is no exception: in many large studies, higher intakes of fruits and vegetables are linked with lower risks, especially in smokers.

Against that backdrop, a new suggestion that fruit and veg might be driving lung cancer in young adults is surprising.

The story behind this latest wave of anxiety doesn’t come from a definitive, landmark trial. It comes from a brief presentation at a scientific conference, based on 187 people with early‑onset lung cancer.

Most had never smoked. When researchers asked about their diets, a lot of them reported eating plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains – the sort of pattern most of us would call “healthy”.

Instead of measuring pesticides in their food or blood, the team estimated probable pesticide exposure using average residue levels from other sources. From there, they speculated that pesticides on otherwise healthy foods might help explain why some young non‑smokers develop lung cancer.

That is a very long way from proving that fruit and vegetables themselves are harmful. Studies like this are meant to raise questions – “could pesticides be part of the story in young lung cancer?” – not to rewrite dietary advice on their own.

Crucially, this particular study looks backwards from people who already have cancer, rather than following healthy people forwards over time, so it cannot tell us whether their diet played any role in causing the disease. Nor does it show that these patients had higher pesticide exposures than comparable people without cancer. It only shows that they ate foods that, on average, can carry residues.

The bigger picture

When you zoom out from this single, tiny study to the broader body of evidence, the picture changes from alarming to reassuringly familiar. Large studies have followed tens or hundreds of thousands of people over many years, asked them what they ate, then waited to see who develops lung cancer. Time and again, those eating more fruit and vegetables either do better or, at very worst, no differently from those eating less.

Meta‑analyses that combine data from multiple studies find reductions in lung cancer risk with higher fruit intake and benefits from vegetables, too. These are the studies that inform official guidelines. They are not perfect – no nutrition study is – but they are far more informative than a single unpublished study of 187 patients.

So why do small studies like this latest one sometimes seem to say something different? One reason is simple statistical noise.

With small numbers, chance plays a huge role. If, for whatever reason, the particular group of young adults who turned up to that clinic happened to be unusually health-conscious, then fruit and vegetable intake will look high among people with lung cancer, even if diet has nothing to do with their disease.

Another issue is what scientists call “confounding”. People who eat more plants often differ in many other ways. They may exercise more, drink less, have different jobs, live in different neighbourhoods, or be more on the ball about seeking medical help.

When you start from patients and look backwards, it is very hard to disentangle these overlapping factors. That is why we place more weight on large, prospective studies that follow people forward in time and can better account for these differences.

Pesticides

Then there is the question of pesticides – the part of the story that understandably unnerves people. It is true that many conventionally grown fruits and vegetables carry measurable pesticide residues, and that people who eat a lot of produce tend to have higher levels of some pesticide breakdown products in their urine.

It is also true that farm workers who handle pesticides regularly and at high doses have higher rates of certain cancers, including some lung cancers. That tells us pesticides are not benign. But what it does not tell us is that eating sprayed apples or lettuce at normal dietary levels causes lung cancer in the general population.

That doesn’t mean we should be complacent: there is an ongoing discussion about cocktails of many different chemicals, about vulnerable groups such as children and pregnant women, and about longer‑term hormone or brain effects that might not show up in crude cancer rates. However, these are arguments for improving how we farm and regulate pesticides, not arguments for abandoning fruit and vegetables.

If you are still uneasy about pesticides, there are practical, proportionate things you can do that don’t involve swapping an orange for a packet of crisps. Washing produce under running water helps remove surface residues and soil, and varying the types of fruit and veg you eat means you are not relying heavily on any one item that tends to carry higher residues.

If your budget allows, choosing organic versions of a few “high‑residue” foods can make sense. But the key point is that these are tweaks at the margins. They don’t change the central message that a diet rich in plant foods is overwhelmingly associated with better health.

Perhaps the most important lesson from this episode is about how to read nutrition headlines. Whenever you see “X food causes cancer” or “Y ingredient is the next miracle cure”, it helps to ask a couple of simple questions. How big was the study? Was it in healthy people followed over time, or patients looked at after the fact? Did the researchers actually measure what they are claiming (like pesticide levels)? And how do the new findings sit alongside decades of existing research?

In the case of the early-onset lung cancer study, the answers are sobering: it was small, it was retrospective, it used indirect exposure estimates, and its suggestion that fruit and vegetables might be harmful sits awkwardly with a much larger body of work pointing the other way.

None of this means we should ignore the possibility that pesticides contribute in some way to cancers in non‑smokers, or that diet is irrelevant to lung health. But we should be wary of turning one provocative conference talk into a reason to fear the very foods that consistently show up as markers of better health.