Though both the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary were thought to favor the Confederacy at the time of "Alabama" construction, British public opinion was divided on the issue, and MPs such as Richard Cobden campaigned against it. The subsequent departure of the "Alabama" proved to be publicly embarrassing, and Palmerston and Russell were later forced to admit that the ship should not have been allowed to depart. The Government had requested advice from the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, Sir Alexander Cockburn, who ruled that her release did not violate Britain's neutrality, because she was not outfitted with guns at the time that they left British ports.