The area is also spoken of as a possible target for al-Qaeda. For instance, when in May 2004 the BBC's "Panorama" programme examined the preparedness of Britain's emergency services for a terrorist attack on the scale of the 11 September 2001 attacks, they simulated a chemical explosion on Bishopsgate in the east of the City. The "Ring of Steel" was established in the wake of the IRA bombings to guard against terrorist threats.