Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan sought to show a united front when they joined activists on the London mayoral campaign trail.
The Labour leader welcomed the party's would-be London mayor to his Islington North constituency, days after a leaked list of MPs placed Mr Khan among those considered "hostile" to the leadership.
But the canvassing session will have done little to calm reported tensions after the pair chose not to knock on any doors together.
After both made brief remarks, the mayoral candidate immediately set off down the road - before jumping into a car to escape a man persistently asking questions about his housing policy.
Mr Corbyn - who had earlier angrily brushed off questions about their relationship - went to knock on doors in a nearby block of flats while Mr Khan targeted another part of the area.
Party sources insisted the plan had always been for them to be together only briefly to address supporters before splitting off with different teams.
As he arrived at the venue within site of Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, Mr Khan joked that he had asked aides to make sure there were no club scarves around.
The self-declared Liverpool fan was mocked after wearing one at a previous event.
Mr Corbyn said Labour was "campaigning absolutely flat out to win in London" in the mayoral contest and elections to the Greater London Assembly on May 5.
"Sadiq is our candidate," he told activists, saying the former minister was "leading the campaign".
Mr Khan has said he will be the capital's champion "often against my own party, rather than the patsy of the leadership of my party" as he battles Tory claims he would be "Corbyn's man" in City Hall.
He told activists: "We are going to go door to door, street to street, community to community to persuade Londoners to lend us their votes so I can be a mayor for all Londoners."
Setting off immediately, he was pursued by a man with a video camera putting claims to him about his stance on plans to demolish council housing across the capital.
He declined to comment and was then ushered into a car to take him to another part of the constituency to canvass voters.
The leader's office has denied responsibility for the list, obtained by the Times and reported to be the work of Corbyn allies, that ranked Labour MPs on their loyalty to the leader.
Mr Khan was among those rated "hostile", the most extreme of five categories.
When it emerged, a spokesman for the mayoral hopeful said: "No. Sadiq Khan is his own person and is fighting his own campaign to be mayor of London.
"Jeremy Corbyn's name is not on the ballot paper."