Leaks from German intelligence agency Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) are not unknown, and initially reports about the briefing entitled ‘Saudi Arabia – Sunni regional power torn between foreign policy paradigm change and domestic policy consolidation’ that had been circulated to a small group of favoured journalists, went unreported by other authorities in Berlin. But such was the discomfort over the BND memo’s criticism of Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), and perceived threat to Germany’s regional relationships, that on 3 December the government made a public rebuke.