Speaking publicly for the first time in an exclusive interview, Dane Knight said Alice Webb’s death had “massively affected” their family, ITV News’ Ellie Pitt reports.
The partner of a mum-of-five who became the first person to die after a liquid Brazilian Butt Lift (BBL) in the UK described telling their five daughters about their mother’s death as “horrific” and “one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do”.
Speaking publicly for the first time in an exclusive interview with ITV News, Dane Knight said Alice Webb’s death had “massively affected” their family and left him personally feeling like an “empty vessel”.
Mrs Webb, from Gloucestershire, he died last month when he suffered complications, after a procedure which involved injecting cosmetic fluid into her buttocks.
Two people have since been arrested on suspicion of murder and have been released on bail.
Dane Knight told ITV News that telling his and Alice Webb’s children about her death “was one of the worst things I’ve ever had to do”.
“At the end of the day there are five young children from eight to 15 years old and in between,” Mr Knight said.
“Their feelings, their thoughts, their questions and me answering them the best way I can and putting it right in a way that softens the blow, but still telling them the truth was a priority.
“And that gave me the strength to carry on knowing that I had to be there for them. The worst part was obviously coming back from the hospital and then going over in my head how to tell the kids, what I say, how I put it, what they will say, how they will act, what I do.
“You think it’s all going through my head and it was just unreal and really kids at that age you shouldn’t be doing that.”
Mr Knight said he believed his partner would not have had the BBL procedure if he had known the “full risks” to her health.
He said: “If only we as a unit knew it [the] full risks then i don’t think this would have happened.
“I don’t think he would. It’s good seeing that this is the process, this is what you get and that’s it. Instead of this being the process, this is what you could get, the risks are… that was absent.
“If some more information about the risks had been available, we might not be here now.”
“If we as a unit knew it [the] there is a complete risk then I don’t think this would have happened”
Mr Knight said his partner’s death had taken a “huge piece” out of their family “which will never be replaced”, adding: “We just have to think of these children, make sure they get all the help they can get. they need and to support them in every way we can”.
He described Ms Webb as a ‘wonderful mum’ and ‘one of a kind’, saying: ‘She was unique in her own way, special in her own way, a special, special girl. She was loved and adored by many. it was one of a kind.”
In the wake of Mrs Webb’s death, her family backed calls for the introduction of ‘Alice’s Law’, which would make it illegal for anyone other than a registered plastic surgeon to be on the GMC’s specialist register, operating from a Commission-regulated environment Care Quality (CQC). , to perform buttock augmentation using hyaluronic acid dermal fillers.
“When he passed, a huge piece was taken from all of us that will never be replaced”
Currently, in the UK it is legal for anyone – even if they do not have a medical qualification – to have invasive body augmentation treatments.
Asked what it would mean to formally bring Alice’s Law into effect, Mr Knight said it would help his family feel that Mrs Webb “will not be forgotten” and help “prevent this from happening to anyone else”.
He said: “For me and the girls, as I told you earlier, this is a really huge piece that has been taken away from all of us.
“And the day she’s buried, there’s a piece of each of us that will go down with her and never come back.
“Hearing Alice’s Law possibly being enforced brings back a little piece of us.”
“She was a great mom, she was a great partner and she was one of a kind”
Liquid BBL is often called non-surgical, but it involves injecting a numbing agent called lidocaine followed by hundreds or thousands of milliliters of filler.
Surgeons told ITV News that this is a high-risk treatment because of the complex anatomy of the buttocks, which have layers of fat, muscle as well as large veins and blood vessels.
Jordan Parke, known as the King of Lips to his online fans, was one of the people arrested in connection with Ms Webb’s death.
ITV News understands he has no surgical qualifications but calls himself a body filler specialist.
Dane Knight told ITV News that hearing Alice’s Law could come into effect helps him and his family “smile”.
ITV News has investigated the existence of BBL filler carried out by non-physicians for almost a year.
We’ve spoken to dozens of women who have experienced sepsis, dead skin tissue, had vein fillers injected and he needed emergency surgery due to BBL filler.
Many of those we spoke to were left with long-term pain, permanent scarring and required corrective surgery.
Save Face, which was set up due to a lack of regulation in the industry, has helped almost 600 people who suffered complications after liquid BBL carried out by “professionals without healthcare experience”.
The agency says that of those more than half (52%) developed sepsis and more than 39% required corrective surgery.
Face save started a reference calling for BBL liquids to be banned from high street beauty dispensaries.
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“Last December, we warned ministers that these dangerous procedures would inevitably lead to fatal deaths and if they had listened Alice’s death could have been prevented,” said Save Face director Ashton Collins.
He added: “We have supported hundreds of women who have suffered life-threatening complications from unscrupulous folk injectors who are currently able to continue to offer these dangerous procedures with impunity.
“The government must take urgent action to enact this law to protect patients from unsafe practices and hold those responsible accountable.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Our condolences go out to the family and friends of Mrs Webb in this tragic case, which is incredibly worrying.
“Patient safety is paramount and we would urge anyone considering cosmetic surgery to consider the potential health implications and find a reputable, insured and qualified practitioner.
“We are exploring options regarding regulatory oversight of the non-surgical cosmetic sector and will update in due course.”
If you would like to share your story, please contact our investigations team by emailing: Investiges@itv.com
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