On 15 March 2018, Corbyn wrote in "The Guardian" that "to rush way ahead of the evidence" about Russia's involvement in the Salisbury poisoning "serves neither justice nor our national security" and that responsibility for the attack "is a matter for police and security professionals to determine". This sparked a row within the Labour Party, with more than 30 backbenchers signing an Early Day Motion "unequivocally" blaming Russia for the attack and several frontbenchers, including shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry, shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith and shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer, stating that Russia was to blame. A poll on 17 March found only 16% of voters believed Corbyn would be the best person to deal with the UK's relations with Russia, compared to 39% saying Theresa May.