The Pistols' hits included Pretty Vacant

In a handwritten note posted on their website, they called the institution "urine in wine".

"We're not your monkeys, we're not coming. You're not paying attention," continued the statement.

The band, named as inductees alongside Blondie, Herb Alpert and Black Sabbath, were due to take part in an induction ceremony in New York on 13 March.

Executive director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Susan Evans, said: "They are being the outrageous punksters they are, and that's rock 'n' roll."

'Old famous'

The note further criticised the Hall of Fame for offering "fame at $25,000 if we paid for a table or $15,000 to squeak up in the gallery".

It further claimed that the money "goes to a non-profit organisation, selling us a load of old famous".

A Hall of Fame representative said each inductee gets two free tickets, with additional ones costing $2,500 (£1,432).

The group's letter acknowledged that the organisation's judges are anonymous, but denounced them as "music industry people".

The Sex Pistols, including Johnny Rotten, returned in 1996

Pistols lead singer Johnny Rotten once famously derided the rock 'n' roll institution as "a place where old rockers go to die", dubbing it the "Rock and Roll Hall of Shame".

The Sex Pistols' notorious hits from the late 1970s include Pretty Vacant and God Save The Queen, while they released just one album before splitting.

They reformed for a tour in 1996, and came back in 2002 to re-release God Save The Queen to coincide with the Golden Jubilee.

This was followed with a brief tour of the US a year later.

Musicians for the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, based in Cleveland, Ohio, are considered for induction 25 years after their first recording.

A shortlist of nominees is sent to an international body of about 700 voting "rock experts".