Britain's 'secret parliament' celebrates its 80th birthday

FILE PHOTO: A general view at the House of Lords as the European Withdrawal Agreement Bill is debated in London, Britain January 21, 2020. Kirsty Wigglesworth/Pool via REUTERS

LONDON (Reuters) - Eighty years ago on Thursday, British lawmakers driven from their debating chamber by World War Two Nazi bombs secretly set up a new home less than 100 yards away, from where Prime Minister Winston Churchill ran the country's wartime government.

Unbeknown to the British public, on June 24, 1941, elected lawmakers from the green-benched House of Commons moved onto the red benches of the House of Lords chamber and remained there for nine years.