I cannot get my iPad 5 to delete emails

Hello bigcars,

Thank you for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.

How are you deleting your emails? These steps may help:

"Delete multiple emails at once 

1. Open Mail and go to your Inbox.
2. Tap Edit in the upper-right corner, then individually select the emails that you want to delete, or tap Select All. To select multiple emails quickly, swipe down through the checkboxes.
3. Tap Trash or Archive. If you only see Archive, touch and hold Archive to see other options like Trash Selected Messages.

To delete a large number of emails, you might find it easier to use your email provider's website.

Set Trash or Archive as your default option

Depending on the type of email account you have, you might see Archive instead of Trash when you try to delete emails. You can edit where your deleted messages go in your Mail settings:

1. In the Settings app, tap Mail.
2. Tap Accounts.
3. Tap your account.
4. Tap your account once more.
5. Tap Advanced.
6. Select Deleted Mailbox or Archive Mailbox to send discarded messages there.

Swipe to delete and other ways to discard one email

• Swipe left quickly over a single email.
• Touch and hold an email from your Inbox, then tap Trash Message from the menu.
• Tap the Archive button  or the Trash button  from within an email.

You can also use the steps to delete multiple emails to delete a single email."

More details can be found here: Delete emails on your iPhone or iPad

If the issue persist, can you provide a few more details? What is your exact iPadOS version? Are you experiencing this with multiple accounts or just one account? Also, when did you first notice this?

Cheers!

Hello bigcars,

Since the app is closing on its own, let's resolve the issue by completing the steps listed here: Close an app on your iPad - Apple Support that are also below.

1. "From the Home Screen, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause in the middle of the screen.
2. Swipe right or left to find the app that you want to close. 
3. Swipe up on the app's preview to close the app. "

Once done, please reopen the app and try to delete emails again.

Best regards.