Paul Richter is an agent with the Foreign Operations Executive.
This agency in the British Intelligence community with the interesting acronym is a highly covert organization tasked with taking care of those operations which are far too sensitive to be handled by the more well-known governmental departments. It accomplishes its duties by employing men like Richter, a contract agent whose official independence makes deniability possible. It is run by Richard Simpson, a man with considerable influence but not well liked those who work for him, especially Richter.
Richter is an Royal Navy pilot, still serving in the Naval Reserves, qualified to fly just about every type of aircraft in the inventory from helicopters to fixed winged and including Harrier VTOL, one he seems to especially enjoy flying. He is certified carrier capable and has flown in all manner of conditions in his many years in the service.
Despite his many qualifications there, though, his role in the military was more along the lines of a troubleshooter than a pilot and, in one incident, he remarked that he was usually the SLJO, an acronym for a "Sh**ty Little Jobs Officer". He was good enough that Simpson approached him to join the FOE when his time in service came up for renewal.
Richter is a tall, athletically built man who, despite his impressive physique, still manages to look disheveled no matter what he wore. He does not really care about his appearance, nor that of others, but he does know that he was been described on more than one occasion as a "badly packed parachute".
For the FOE, Richter continues his role of troubleshooter and is the man most likely to be brought in by Simpson for the hardest, most unpleasant missions, not because Simpson has any animosity towards him, which he does not, but because Richter is most likely to succeed.