mandelson warns bbc on campbell the bbc should steer away from  demonising  ex-downing street media chief alastair campbell  peter mandelson has said.  the european commissioner and former labour minister was speaking amid claims that mr campbell is part of a labour  dirty tricks  campaign. that charge was denied by mr mandelson  who said the tories were afraid of mr campbell s campaigning skills. he warned the bbc that attacking mr campbell had brought it trouble before. that was a reference to the hutton inquiry following a bbc story claiming downing street  sexed up  iraq s weapons of mass destruction dossier.  the affair prompted the resignation of bbc chairman gavyn davies  director-general greg dyke and reporter andrew gilligan. labour has attracted media criticism for using new freedom of information laws to dig up information about tory leader michael howard s past.  mr mandelson  a former labour communications director  told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  i understand why the tories will be gunning for alastair campbell because they fear his campaigning skills.  what i understand less is why the bbc should be joining with the tories in driving that agenda.  in my experience of these things  parties which shout about dirty tricks and the like tend to do so because they fear a direct hit in some vulnerable part of their political anatomy.  i suggest the bbc concentrates on the issues and helps the public to understand the policies and the choices that are at stake in the election rather than engages in the process politics  the trivialisation of the campaign.  i think the bbc would be much better advised to leave all this stuff well alone  concentrate on the issues as i say  not resume their demonisation of alastair campbell - we all know where that led before.   mr campbell is acting as an adviser for labour  which denies engaging in personal campaigning. conservative co-chairman liam fox said mr campbell s return and labour poster plans attacking mr howard - recently withdrawn from the party s website - were a sign of  abusive politics .  the government  despite the fact that they would say want to go forward  not back  seem intent on talking about history rather than their own record or even more importantly  about the future   he said on sunday. labour peer baroness kennedy  who is chairing the power inquiry into political disengagement  said people already thought politicians engaged in dirty tricks.  this feeling of distrust is going to be enlarged if this campaigning on all sides is conducted in the way that it looks as if it just might   she said.