Was the character of Faber in Eye of the Needle based on a real-life German spy that MI5 was desperately trying to capture to save the D-day plans?

The plot of Ken Follett's spy thriller Eye of the Needle does have a historical basis. In order to provide a diversion from the D-Day invasion of Normandy during World War II, Alliied counter-intelligence developed Operation Fortitude which was designed to make the Germans believe that the invading strike would come at Calais. The operation also involved the fabrication of a First United States Army Group (FUSAG) that used phantom armies, mock-ups of tanks, artillery pieces, airplanes, and false radio chatter to enhance the perception that the invasion of Calais was imminent.
However, the character of Henry Faber, the German spy who goes by the nickname "The Needle" in the novel, is an invention of the author's and has no basis in any historical figure.