paull,
My first reply was unlikely to ever start "yes there was a level bust at time whatever..." as I'm not at work 24hrs a day 365 days a year and so don't know about every single level bust that takes place either in the airspace I work or the wider TMA and I also don't consider it my place to necessarily confirm or deny anything that's reported here from apparently someone listening to a scanner.
S and L was wrong in his assumptions about how traffic is handled in that area... I wasn't looking to give him a hard time, merely trying to get over the correct information which to start with didn't appear to be being accepted. I wasn't offering any opinion on the reported level bust that started the thread, just clarifying basic procedures used in the area.
I'll say this again, the interaction between LCY deps and LHR arrivals is not in any way unique in the TMA. Arrivals and departures are crossing in similar circumstances (minimum vertical separation, no lateral separation) in and out of every London airport.
NATS is very much aware of the level bust issue and spends a great deal of time and effort on the subject, forgive me if I think there are better forums and ways for tackling the wider issues than PPRuNe.
I'm not here to give anyone a hard time, nor do I feel ATC is victimised or overly defensive. I will however do my best to correct anything that I know to be incorrect but not necessarily comment on any particular incident.
Finally, if you want more info on NATS and level busts, have a look here...
http://www.levelbust.com/