Sky was originally seeking £709 million in compensation from the data provider over the £48 million contract.

But there will be a further hearing over damages in February after Sky's lawyers have examined the judgment.

Mr Justice Ramsey said: "I find that there was liability on the first defendant (Hewlett Packard) to the claimant (BSkyB) for fraudulent misrepresentation giving rise to damages."

The broadcaster hired Electronic Data Systems, later taken over by Hewlett Packard (HP), in 2000 to build a new customer services system.

The contract was ended in March 2002 after a "woeful" performance, the judge had been told.

Lawyers for Sky told the judge the project eventually took six years to complete and if the contractor had been honest about its abilities, BSkyB would have chosen a different company.

A spokesman for HP said of the ruling: "This is a legacy issue, dating back to the EDS business in 2000, which HP inherited when it acquired EDS in 2008.

"We are pleased the court dismissed the majority of the allegations made. While we accept that the contract was problematic, HP strongly maintains EDS did nothing to deceive BSkyB. HP will be seeking permission to appeal."