Sir Paul Stephenson never wanted to become a policeman but instead had a desire to become a shoe salesman.

But when that vocation did not work out he followed his older brother into the police service, although he did not intend to make a career out of it.

However, 33 years later he is in charge of more than 30,000 police officers and 10,000 staff as well as managing the country’s anti-terrorist strategy.

At the core of his beliefs is a desire to serve the public, a lesson he learnt from the manager of a large Tesco store in Lancashire.

When he became chief constable there in July 2002 he visited the store and asked the manager what made it work.

“Keeping the queues down and the customers happy,” he was told. Mr Stephenson, who has been awarded the Queen’s Police Medal, has made that his mantra — serving the customer, the public. Their calls should be answered promptly and whatever response they are promised should be delivered in a timely fashion.

During his long career, as well as working in Lancashire he has served as a superintendent in the RUC during a violent time in the 1990s.

A desire to meet the people and talk to those who were in the thick of the Troubles led him, against the advice of his security detail, to meet members of the nationalist community in what many RUC officers would have considered risky circumstances. Sir Paul regards his time in Ulster and some of the people and police officers he met as inspirational.

After the RUC he was appointed Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police before moving to Lancashire as Deputy Chief Constable in May 1999 then becoming Chief Constable of the force in 2002.

He served there for three years and was considering leaving policing when the job of Deputy Commissioner under Sir Ian came up. His role includes the oversight of strategy, modernisation and performance and protecting the officer of Commissioner.

However hard he works he takes every opportunity to go back to Lancashire for the weekend to visit his family — his wife and three daughters.

Often this means getting up before dawn so that he can be back at his desk in London for the start of the day.

He is an imposing man, and enjoys walking, reading and gardening. He is a rugby fan but does not like cricket.

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