Mum dies after being injected with black market ‘skinny jab’

ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry and Senior Producer Liz Little investigate the UK’s potentially fatal ‘skinny jab’ black market

The “heartbroken” daughters of a woman who died after being injected with a black market ‘skinny jab’ have called for a crackdown on the sale of unlicensed weight loss drugs.

In an exclusive interview with ITV News, the family are the first in the UK to speak publicly about a death linked to fake weight loss jabs.

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Karen McGonigal, 53, from Salford in Greater Manchester, died in May, just days after she was illegally administered a dose of semaglutide.

Paying tribute to their “kind and loving” mother, Abbie and Ffion McGonigal said she had “lived for her kids and grandkids.”

“She had the biggest heart and would do anything for anybody,” Abbie told ITV News, adding, “if she was your friend – you were lucky.”

Karen’s family are awaiting further test results, but they believe the unlicensed weight-loss jabs were to blame for her death. / Credit:

In the months before her death, Karen had been struggling with her mental health and was “desperate” to lose weight.

Her daughters say her self-esteem suffered when her long-term relationship ended, and she felt that being overweight was “ruining her life”.

“She didn’t feel happy in herself, she didn’t want to go out anywhere. I think she just wanted her old self back – she wanted to lose weight to get her confidence back,” said Abbie.

Karen visited her GP, where she had tests to see if she would be eligible for weight loss injections.

She was unable to get the medication on the NHS, but was told by friends that it was available to buy at a local beauty salon.

ITV News has seen text messages sent by a beautician offering the jabs for £20 each.

However, weight-loss injections can only be legally and safely dispensed with a prescription from a healthcare professional, such as a doctor or pharmacist.

Karen visited the salon a number of times for what she was told were Mounjaro injections.

Her youngest daughter, Ffion, told ITV News the beautician “stopped doing a woman’s nails” to take Karen into a back room where she was injected with a syringe.

“No preparation, no cleaning, nothing. She’d give it to my mum, my mum would pay her, and she’d be out in three minutes.”

Karen had started to lose weight, but four days after her last injection, she suddenly became unwell – in “agony” with severe stomach pains and was struggling to breathe.

When her daughter, Ffion, saw her mother’s face turn “purple”, she called an ambulance.

“She got blue-lighted to the hospital. By the time I saw her again, she wasn’t awake.”

After two days in intensive care, Karen’s three daughters were told there was nothing more doctors could do to save her.

Family and friends were told to say their goodbyes, and Karen’s life support was turned off.

“We were around her, kissing and hugging her. We were singing,” said Abbie.

“All her friends were there… They all got to say their last goodbyes.”

Karen (left) and her daughters. / Credit:

Ffion, 25, who still lived with her mum, recently found out she’s pregnant with her first child. It would have been Karen’s fifth grandchild.

“I’m devastated and heartbroken that she’s not here to meet my baby,” Ffion told ITV News.

“It’s horrific. It’s the day-to-day routine that’s affected me. I would get up every morning and make me and my mum a cup of tea. You don’t think something so little as putting an extra tea bag out is going to affect you, but it does.”

The family has since been told Karen was not injected with tirzepatide, the drug known by the brand name Mounjaro; instead, she was administered semaglutide – a different weight loss drug, requiring a different dosage.

Karen’s family are awaiting further test results, but they believe the unlicensed weight-loss jabs were to blame for her death.

ITV News understands that Greater Manchester Police have arrested one person on suspicion of manslaughter and another on suspicion of supplying a controlled substance. The police investigation is ongoing.

The sisters told ITV News they believe the authorities should be doing more to stop the illegal supply of unlicensed and unsafe weight loss jabs.

“I think the people who are actually injecting people with this stuff – more needs to be done to them,” said Abbie.

“There’s so many people doing it, there’s so many people selling it,” she added. “These people are getting away with destroying people’s lives.”

Five months after losing their mum, the sisters have chosen to speak out to warn others of the dangers.

Ffion told ITV News she would “beg on hands and knees” for others not to use fake ‘skinny jabs’.

Abbie and Ffion spoke to ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry. / Credit: ITV News

“If this saves another person,” said Abbie. “Or saves another person going through what we feel – then we’ve done enough.”

Warning anyone who might be considering taking the “cheaper option”, she cautioned: “The outcome is devastating. It’s heartbreaking and it’s really, really not worth it.”

Speaking to ITV News Health Correspondent Rebecca Barry, Health Secretary Wes Streeting promised to ‘take every action to clamp down on supply of illegal drugs’

Responding to the ITV News story, Health Secretary Wes Streeting vowed to “take every action we can to clamp down on the availability of these sorts of drugs on the black market” and said that the government and public must “learn from this absolutely shocking case.”

Streeting told ITV News, “My heart goes out to Karen’s family after just such a shocking and avoidable loss. We’re determined to make sure that we drive these dangerous criminals out of our country.

“My message to the public is that whilst weight loss jabs and can be really helpful to tackle obesity and there’s lots of evidence to support it, people must seek medical advice from regulated medical providers before taking this medication, and if people are seeing it for sale on the black market, they should report it.”

Andy Morling, MHRA Deputy Director of Criminal Enforcement, told ITV News in a statement: “My thoughts are with Karen McGonigal’s family following her tragic death.

“The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is responsible for the regulation of medicines in the UK under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

“Buying any medicine from illegal online suppliers significantly increases the risk of receiving falsified or unlicensed products. We work closely with law enforcement partners, customs authorities, social media and online platforms to remove illegal medicines from sale, block harmful websites, disrupt payment routes, and delist offending domains from search engines.

“Where breaches of the law are identified in the UK, we will not hesitate to use the full range of our enforcement powers to protect public health, including, where appropriate, prosecuting those who put people at risk.”