Mr Blunkett said it was regrettable that the government "didn't get him
out fast enough".
"When you have someone who has committed the most horrendous crimes it is
my belief that any sovereign state has the right to remove that person from
their soil and send them back to their country of origin," he said.
"My only regret is that we didn't get him out fast enough to avoid him
being able to abuse the rights we offer within a democracy."
Abdi, who was born in 1975, arrived in the UK in May 1995 and, although
refused asylum, was granted exceptional leave to remain in the UK until
February 2000.
In 2002, while Abdi was still in jail serving his sentence for rape, Mr
Blunkett ordered that he should be deported and that he should be detained
until the deportation order was made.
Later that year, Abdi appealed his deportation and made a fresh claim for
asylum but was unsuccessful.
In 2003, he was due to be released from prison - having completed his sentence
for rape, but the government was not able to deport him immediately and was
kept in prison.
This was because, in 2004, the last carrier willing to take "enforced
returns" to Somalia withdrew - meaning it was impossible for the
government to remove people without their consent.
It was not until 2006 that the government reached an agreement with African
Express Airlines which made enforced removals possible.
But by this time, Abdi had been granted permission to apply for judicial
review of the decision to detain him.
His case went to the Court of Appeal in 2007 but it held that the period of
detention was lawful because Abdi could have returned to Somalia
voluntarily.
He was refused permission to appeal to the House of Lords but was released in
April 2007 and he lodged his case with the European Court of Human Rights in
2008.
It published its ruling yesterday, stating that it found that the detention
was not lawful under UK law because regular reviews required were not
carried out.
However the court rejected Abdi's claim under Article 3 - the prohibition of
inhumane and degrading treatment - that his removal to Somalia would put him
at risk of ill-treatment.
Abdi, who was sent back to jail in April 2008 after breaching his bail
conditions, is currently detained in HMP Brixton, London.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “We are extremely disappointed with the
court’s decision and are urgently reviewing our options.
“We will continue to seek to deport this individual who has shown a complete
disregard for the laws of this country.
“We believe it is right that dangerous individuals are kept in detention,
wherever possible, in order to protect the public.”