Tory chiefs were forced to scrap a £20 ticket price for “wine and nibbles” with Rishi Sunak after too few tickets were sold.
Party organisers in Gloucestershire wanted to cash in on the weekend event with the struggling No10 hopeful, who is teetotal.
An email to local grassroots activists, which said it was “promoted by Andrew Lennard on behalf of Gloucestershire Conservatives”, said the “ticket price £20 to include wine and nibbles” for the bash last Sunday.
But just 19 hours later, a follow-up email with the “Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP is now free of charge”.
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An insider told the Mirror the switch was because “they couldn’t sell tickets”.
Conservative insiders are desperate to maintain support from members in the key South West region amid a Lib Dem resurgence.
The party overturned a huge Tory majority to win the Tiverton & Honiton by-election in June, triggered by the resignation of sitting Conservative MP Neil Parish.
He quit after admitting watching porn in the Commons.
The Tory leadership contest is at a crunch stage, with Mr Sunak still thought to be trailing rival Liz Truss in polls.
The race still has five weeks to run but ballot papers have begun arriving on Tory Party members' doorsteps.
While the result is not due until September 5, many activists are likely to cast their votes in the coming days.
Ms Truss suffered a blow today after she was forced into a humiliating U-turn over plans to pay public sector workers less depending on where they live.
Mr Sunak's campaign sense an opening for their candidate following the first major misstep in the Foreign Secretary's battle for the keys to No10.
