The Australian Medical Board has deregistered euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke, who has declared himself a victim of a political campaign.

The board on Wednesday night used its emergency powers to immediately suspend Dr Nitschke, after ruling that he posed “a serious risk to the health and safety of the public”.

The ruling, which came into effect at midnight, follows the suicide of Perth man Nigel Brayley, who died in May after communicating with Dr Nitschke.

Dr Nitschke, who was notified of the suspension at about 10pm on Wednesday night, told AAP he will appeal the decision.

“This is to my mind a clear case of a difference in ideology leading to a suspension. In other words it’s a political suspension,” Dr Nitschke told AAP on Thursday.

“We have a right to appeal and we’ll certainly be doing that.”