This is interesting, I've had to put my gel in my liquids bag at Gatwick twice and Cyprus once . The lady next to me in the queue at Gatwick last time was also told to fit it in her bag.
You're right, not a lot of spare room left if you do this, I've had to ditch other stuff. Now I buy toiletries after security and leave them abroad to avoid the stress. I guess it's down to the person on security.
