SNP MSP Stewart Stevenson is to step down ahead of the 2021 Holyrood election, according to colleague James Dornan.

Stevenson, who represents Banffshire and Buchan Coast, has served in the Scottish Parliament for almost 20 years.

Fellow SNP MSPs Michael Russell, Bruce Crawford, James Dornan, Richard Lyle and Gail Ross have all announced they will not stand in 2021.

READ MORE: Michael Russell to stand down ahead of Holyrood 2021​

Responding to the announcement that Russell would be leaving Holyrood, Dornan revealed that Stevenson is doing likewise.

The loss of Russell and Stevenson, along with SNP colleague Crawford, will leave “a huge gap for the party and the parliament in terms of experience, political nous and plain common decency”, Dornan tweeted.

Stevenson will have made more than 820 parliamentary speeches and held almost 1200 advice surgeries for constituents by the time he retires.

During his time in government his roles have included serving as Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change and as Minister for Environment and Climate Change, taking through Scotland's Climate Change Act in 2009.