Madrid, Jan 24 (IANS): General Miguel Angel Villarroya, Spain's Chief of Defence Staff, has resigned after it was claimed on that he and other high-ranking military officers had received a first dose of the anti-coronavirus vaccine in breach of protocol.

Villarroya presented his resignation to Defence Minister Margarita Robles in a letter sent on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.

In the letter, he said he was stepping down to "preserve the image of the Armed Forces", according to a statement released by the Ministry of Defenve.

Villarroyasaid he had always "strived to serve as an example to his subordinates and to do the right thing", and that although he had "never tried to take advantage of unjustifiable privileges", some of his decisions "are damaging the public image of the Armed Forces".

The controversy over high-ranking military officers receiving the vaccination despite not being part of a high-risk group was made public on Friday, prompting Robles to request a report into the event.

One of the hardest-hit countries in Europe, Spain has so far reported 2,499,560 coronavirus cases and 55,441 deaths.