Software founder Mike Lynch gets day in court as $5bn claim kicks off

British entrepreneur Mike Lynch arrived in court on Monday ready to claim he was a “scapegoat” for the doomed $11 billion takeover of Autonomy by Hewlett-Packard.

Lynch, 53, was set to attend the first day of a nine-month High Court defence against HP, dubbed “the tech trial of the century”, over blame for a big write-down of Autonomy after the takeover.

The former Autonomy chief, who sold his business to HP in 2011, is being sued for around $5.1 billion over claims he artificially inflated sales at Autonomy before selling to HP.

Former Autonomy chief Sushovan Hussain is also a defendant.

Lynch, above, is pursuing a counterclaim against HP, saying the reputational damage cost him business deals worth up to $150 million.

Lynch is set to give three to four weeks’ evidence in July.

He will claim HP botched the takeover of Autonomy.

“Mike will not be a scapegoat for their failures,” said a spokesman.