The mother of one of PC Andrew Harper's killers has hit out at the decision to keep her son behind bars, claiming he is 'not a danger to anyone'.

In an extraordinary tirade, Donna-Marie Bowers, 44, blamed 'the public' for a decision to block the early release of her son, Albert Bowers, and played down the brutal killing as 'a tragic accident'.

Bowers, 24, was in a gang of teenagers who killed newlywed PC Harper, 28, as he tried to stop them stealing a quad bike in Berkshire in 2019.

PC Harper was dragged behind their getaway car for a mile, causing catastrophic injuries.

Bowers was in line to be released from prison alongside Jessie Cole, also 24, after serving just half of their 13-year sentences for manslaughter.

After public outcry and an emotional campaign by PC Harper's family, Prime Minister Andy Burnham stepped in to keep them behind bars by excluding anyone convicted of unlawful killing from Labour's early release scheme.

Bowers is serving his sentence at HMP Frankland, where he is said to wear PC Harper's death 'almost like a medal'.

He was pictured grinning as he was taken to court hearings and has 'never shown a moment's regret' over the killing, a prison source has said.

But his mother has lashed out at the decision to block his release and described the officer's death as a 'tragic accident'.

In an incendiary rant on Facebook, written in broken English, Mrs Bowers blamed a public petition 'to stop 2 young men from being released' who 'didn't mean to do what they done'.

Despite more than one million people signing the petition, she claimed only 'some of the public' opposed their release.

Mrs Bowers wrote that the Prime Minister 'might as well stand down and let all public just rule the country' if 'he is just going to fold every time he gets a bit of pressure'.

She also shared a post slamming the 'double standards' of campaigners, which claimed there was no public outcry against police officers convicted of serious crimes.

The post claimed 'most of the corrupt scum who wear the uniform are being protected by their like minded colleagues'.

Bowers and Cole were both 17 when they were in a getaway car, driven by 19-year-old ringleader Henry Long, which dragged PC Harper to his death.

Bowers and Cole were cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter.

In one of several Facebook posts, Mrs Bowers said the pair were 'only kids at the time and are not a danger to enyone [sic] now'.

Bowers has a lengthy rap sheet and is thought to be listed as a 'sex offender', 'violent' and 'racist' on prison records.

His mother said the conviction for sexual assault 'is not what they are making it sound like' and was based on 'lies', but that 'the judge wasn't interested in that because Albert is a traveler'.

The inflammatory comments come after PC Harper's family said they had been 're-traumatised' by the fight to keep his killers behind bars.

Last week, a prison source told the Daily Mail that Bowers 'is evil' and 'completely devoid of any morals or any humanity'.

The source added: 'If it was up to me, he would never be allowed out because he is always going to be a danger.

'He will kill again at some point in his life when he is eventually released. I'm sure of that.'

Bowers will remain behind bars until around March 2029 when he and Cole will have completed two-thirds of their sentence.