Cosmetic cowboys to be BANNED in huge victory for Mirror - victims 'ecstatic'

A major crackdown on 'wild west' cowboy cosmetics has finally been announced by the Government - leaving mums who nearly died “relieved and ecstatic”. In a giant victory for the Mirror’s cosmetic surgery campaign, Health Secretary Wes Streeting is to introduce a raft of new laws to deal with dodgy cosmetic surgery in the UK.

The health boss said: “Hats off to theMirror for its tireless campaigning on this issue and bringing these shocking stories to light. It has truly lived up to its name, by holding a mirror up to show us the hidden horrors of the industry. "

The proposed law change, which will now have to be put to Parliament, follows the devastating death of mum-of-five Alice Webb, 33. Alice died after having a non-surgical BBL procedure at a clinic in Gloucester in September. Her partner, Dane, welcomed the news saying: "This victory is a crucial step forward to ensuring no family has to endure the heartbreak we have."

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READ MORE: Mum left in a coma after botched BBL 'ecstatic' over cosmetic cowboy crackdown

Wes Streeting told The Mirror: “We don’t need another tragedy. The beauty industry has become too ugly to leave unregulated. It’s time for a serious makeover, and we will waste no time in delivering it. What we need to do now is root out the bodgers and the rogues, the crooks and the cowboys - where the only thing that’s pretty is the price.”

The Government said they will also be slapping a ban on under-18s getting high risk cosmetic procedures. The health secretary says he wants to put an end to the “horror stories” such as the ones highlighted by the Mirror. We told of mums left in intensive care, one in a coma and another an hour from death.

In the “tough and robust” new measures the highest-risk procedures such as Brazilian Butt Lift (BBLs) will only be carried out by qualified healthcare professionals in properly regulated settings. These dangerous procedures “must be done by specialised healthcare workers, working in providers that are registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC)”.

A BBL is seen as one of the most dangerous procedures and traditionally involves surgery to take fat from a patient’s thighs, hips or abdomen by liposuction and injecting it into the buttocks to add volume. Performed incorrectly, large veins within the buttocks can easily be torn and fat can accidentally be injected into the wrong area, leading to embolism, blocking blood flow to vital organs including lungs, heart and brain.

The Government will also target those doing less risky treatments such as botox, lip fillers and facial dermal fillers, who will come under “stricter oversight through a new local authority licensing system.” The Government said: “Practitioners will be required to meet rigorous safety, training, and insurance standards before they can legally operate. Once regulations are introduced, practitioners who break the rules on the highest risk procedures will be subject to CQC enforcement and financial penalties.”

The Government explained they are taking action after “growing alarm” about dangerous procedures being carried out in unsafe homes, hotels, and pop-up clinics, across the country. There have been claims procedures have even been offered in public loos and one TikTok video showed a woman performing lip fillers in her car.

Mum Bonnie Louise Cooper feared son would be left an orphan

A mum who nearly died after having liquid BBLs in the UK backed our campaign from the start and reacted with joy at the latest news saying she was "over the moon". And she thanked the Mirror for help “ getting the word out there.”

Bonnie Louise Cooper, was more terrified for her five year old son, when she came within an hour of death, as he would have been left orphaned. She said of the Government announcement: “Wow. Nobody’s gonna get hurt any more. I can’t believe this. I'm over the moon and it's brought me a lot of joy.”

The mum from Swanage in Dorset still suffers the aftermath of the £3,000 cosmetic surgery she had in November 2023 after seeing the adverts on Instagram. She said: “My little boy could have been left an orphan when I thought I was having something safe done. “

Bonnie-Louise came thought she was being sensible when she opted not to jet off to Turkey and have the cosmetic procedure in England instead last November. But she suffered a deadly sepsis infection which nearly cost her life and has left her with nerve damage and pins and needles.

Beautician Bonnie thought she was going "somewhere safe" with the procedure described as non-invasive, 'pain free and zero down time.' She said she arranged the procedure through two women but when she turned up it was a man doing the BBL.

Bonnie said she then suffered 40 minutes of agony describing it as the “worst pain I’ve ever had in my life." She added: “Every time he injected me, I had a shooting pain, I screamed it was so bad. He just made out to me he had not seen someone react this way and actually suggested I had a low pain threshold.”

After getting home from the procedure Bonnie told how she was “delirious” and her sister called for an ambulance. She told us previously: “The paramedics arrived quickly and they did observations and said it was obviously some sort of infection. The area was on fire.

“They measured a 3cm by 3cm lump on the incision site. They tried to stand me up to get me into the ambulance but I collapsed. My sister thought I was going to die.

“The next thing I remember is waking up in an ambulance being blue lighted. I woke up on my front with vomit all over me. It was so confusing. This is when I realised how bad it was…

“The doctors came into the room and told me: 'You could die within the hour'. They came in six of them putting IV drips in both of your arms. It was rushed.

“I remember thinking of my son who is completely dependent on me. I started crying. He would be an orphan, I had to get home for him.”

Bonnie helped the Mirror campaign because she did not want “another mum to go through this.” About the impact the surgery had, Bonnie told us this week: “Well it's impacted me and my family massively, you know, I'm still having ongoing health battle because of the botched BBL. We thought I'd never walk again and obviously I've lost trust in somebody that claims to be a medical professional now.

“These new guidelines means nobody else is going to get hurt, because now if you're getting that procedure, it generally is done by a medical professional, somebody that knows what they're doing, knows about the complications, will give you after care, you know, somebody who actually cares. What is sad is this has been hurting girls who are only getting this done because they want to boost their confidence“

Medical experts backed The Mirror's call for crackdown

Medical experts, including the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) had backed our campaign to clean up Britain’s beauty industry calling for a change in the law “before there is another death”. Mr Tim Mitchell, President of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCS England), reacting to the news, said it was an “important first step forward for patient safety. “

But he said they believe liquid Brazilian Butt Lifts and other procedures designed for buttock, breast or genital augmentation, “should only be performed by a Cosmetic Surgery Board Certified surgeon.” It is thought between 100,000 and 200,000 “aesthetic practitioners” operate in High Streets and from homes around the country. The exact number is unknown.

We revealed how some procedures carried out by dodgy practitioners are being done by people with just hours of training. And when complications happen, customers have been maimed then ghosted - some even left fighting for their lives in intensive care with sepsis.

The Mirror received widespread public support for the demands of the Mirror’s Ban the Cosmetic Cowboys campaign. Our exclusive poll found 83% of voters think cosmetic surgery should only be carried out by properly trained surgeons who are on the General Medical Council specialist register.

Alice’s partner Dane Knight, campaign group Save Face and the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, also backed our demand for action. Save Face launched their own campaign in 2023, after receiving reports of high-risk procedures being carried out by lay people in unsuitable settings.

They were supported by Alice’s partner, Dane, who said: “Losing Alice was the most devastating experience of my life, and I’ve seen firsthand how dangerous unregulated procedures can destroy the lives of victims and their families. Thanks to the relentless efforts of the Save Face campaign for Alice’s Law, we are finally seeing the government take meaningful action to protect others from the same tragedy. “

Ashton Collins from Save Face, who has helped 750 women, told The Mirror they were “absolutely delighted” regulations were being finally pushed forward. “It's a huge relief for us that you know finally they are addressing the highest risk of procedures because there has been one death and I am certain that more would follow.

“I was flabbergasted, and it still shocks me to this day that we would even need a piece of legislation that says to a non-medical person you cannot pick up a scalpel and start dissecting somebody's face. It's insanity that somebody would have the audacity to even attempt that. It is just morally bankrupt.

"They are playing the lottery with people's lives and they don't care because their sole focus is prioritizing profits over people. Even where people have caused multiple women to have near-death experiences they've just been able to carry on.”

“I’ve spoken to women who have nearly died, who describe feelings of despair and hopelessness, and others who’ve been unable to return to any semblance of a normal life. Some have endured extensive, life-altering surgeries because their practitioners ignored their concerns and refused to help.

“Many feel too embarrassed to leave the house; countless relationships have broken down. There are stories of lost jobs, shattered families, and lives torn apart, all because they unwittingly trusted someone who exploited their vulnerability and recklessly risked their lives."

And she warned the public before the law gets royal assent to be on their guard: “If you see anybody that is still willing to offer liquid BBLs, liposuction that isn't healthcare professionals, then you should avoid them like the plague. “

The Government said the “planned crackdown follows a series of incidents where people have had high-risk treatments from people with little or no medical training, leading to dangerous complications, permanent scarring and even death. These new rules will protect people from unqualified, rogue operators and reduce the cost to the NHS of fixing botched procedures. ”

They said priority will be given to introducing regulations to restrict the “highest risk procedures first” such as fillers injected into breasts and genitals. A public consultation will be published early next year.

Alice Webb's daughter had to pick prom dress without her mum

Mum-of-five Alice Webb, 33, became the first person to die in the UK after having a liquid Brazilian Butt Lift. The tragedy has had a “devastating” impact on her family.

Recently her teenage daughter had to go dress shopping for her prom without her mum. Her partner has told how telling their five daughters about their mother's death last September was "horrific" and "one of the worst things I've ever had to do".

Dane Knight said Alice's death had "massively affected" their family and left him personally feeling like an "empty vessel". Ms Webb, from Gloucestershire, died when she suffered complications, following a procedure which involved cosmetic fluid being injected into her buttocks.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and bailed. But almost a year later and there are still no charges. Ashton Collins from Save Face, who has been calling for change for two years, said: “I hope the Government will call it Alice’s law.

“It means so much to her family and children that she has a legacy that means other people are being protected and it will be devastating if they didn’t do that. I was with her mum and her sister just last week. I never thought in my wildest dreams when I set up this register that I would ever have to sit in front of a family that's lost somebody due to a cosmetic procedure.

“It just makes me so upset and so angry that they've had to go through this needlessly. I mean her death could have been prevented and it should have been prevented. Those five girls will have to now live the rest of their lives without a mum.

“I was speaking to her eldest daughter who'd recently had a prom, she had to go dress shopping with her dad which obviously that would usually be a thing that you'd really enjoy doing with your mum. She's had to pick up her GCSE results (this week). It’s just so so sad.

“Every victim of unregulated liquid BBL procedures and their families will carry the trauma for a lifetime. These procedures don’t just cause physical harm, they cause devastation, impacting every aspect of a person’s life.”

Ashton says she has spent hours talking to victims and “crying with them” while she advises them on how to seek justice “which sadly is not always possible.” She said: “I’ve also spent time with the children of Alice Webb, who now have to live without their mum, missing out on prom nights, exam results, and all the milestone moments where they so desperately need her by their side.”

Gloucestershire Police's major crime team is investigating and the two arrested people have been released on bail. They said in a statement on Wednesday: “Following the death of a woman after a cosmetic procedure last year (23 September 2024), Gloucestershire Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team launched an investigation.

“Alice Webb was reported to have become unwell following a suspected cosmetic procedure. She was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital and died in the early hours of the following morning.

"Two people were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and later released on police bail. Following further enquiries, no further action is being taken against one of the people and they have been released from bail. Investigations are continuing and a man is due to answer bail on Wednesday 24 September.”