Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have held talks as they edge closer to the deadline for nominations in the contest to replace Liz Truss.
Two separate sources told the BBC the meeting took place, but neither camp has disclosed what they discussed.
Rishi Sunak continues to forge ahead in the leadership race, gathering the support of 128 MPs.
Mr Johnson is currently in second place, with his campaign claiming he has the backing of 100 MPs.
However, Mr Sunak’s supporters raised doubts over the number of backers Mr Johnson has and they called for the former PM to show proof.
Penny Mordaunt is the only candidate to officially declare they are in the race, but she lags behind on support.
The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg said that Mr Sunak and Mr Johnson had met on Saturday evening, but she was not sure “if any conclusions or news was likely to come out of it tonight”.
According to the BBC’s running total of MPs who have gone on the record with support, Mr Sunak has 128 backers, to Mr Johnson’s 53 and Ms Mordaunt’s 23.
The voting intentions of only 203 out of 357 Conservative MPs are currently known and have been verified by the BBC, leaving many still to declare their interest.
The hopefuls have until 14:00 BST on Monday to declare they have got the support of 100 MPs, qualifying them for the next stage of the race.
It will then go to an online ballot of the Conservative party membership, with the result to be announced on Friday. (BBC)